


Iron Man: Redux

by Melissamermaid



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Gen, May Finds Out, NOT a bashing fic, Not Beta Read, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:33:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melissamermaid/pseuds/Melissamermaid
Summary: BEING REWRITTEN! Post Siberia - Peter goes after Tony, hoping to help him, instead he finds him almost dead in the snow. He helps him back to life, at the cost of Extremis... Tony will be handling things a little differently, depending on some additional people and new heroes will get their chance to shine. AU, Tony centric, Updated hopefully weekly, updates may be sporadic. Peter Parker mentoring fic, limited character bashing, some characters are just angry...at certain other ones, no OOC hatred towards characters.
Relationships: Happy Hogan/Pepper Potts, Tony Stark/Jennifer Walters
Comments: 56
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited to remove KAREN from the story. Edited some grammar briefly. Made a few things more clear. 9/30/20

One

Siberia

It was cold.

It was so cold.

Tony looked up at the dreary sky, not able to move from the weight of the suit. If he hadn’t disabled Friday, he would have been able to let her open his suit, but he was an idiot and sent her away.

He was alone.

Despite that, he thought of his parents. He hadn’t thought of his parents in a long time, he couldn’t help but think about them as he was stuck there, in the snow. Seeing his mother choking to death by the Winter Soldier, not killing by Howard driving drunk, as he always suspected.

He didn’t have the best relationship with his parents. His non-relationship with his father was purposeful and his relationship with his mother wasn’t her fault.

Once he was old enough to process what was going on around him, which was quite young, he realized that things weren’t quite right about his home. His mother, whom he cared about, was often drugged up to the point of incoherency.

There wasn’t a lot of help for those with postpartum depression that turned into straight up depression and suicidal thoughts in the eighties. There wasn’t a lot of mental health support point blank in the eighties. Most doctors just gave very strong drugs to keep the victim of depression or PTSD not lucid at all. They just wanted the symptoms to go away, not to actually fix them.

He often saw his mother just sitting at the piano, staring listlessly at the ivory keys, mouthing stuff to herself. Jarvis or Ana were quick to guide him away from the room.

And his father… Wasn’t the same man that everyone knew from the war. No, the war turned him bitter and left him with an addiction to alcohol. Which turned him even more bitter, more mean and more violent towards those he claimed to love when he was sober.

He either yelled at Tony to leave him alone, smacked him across the face for being in the lab, undermined his accomplishments or was gone, searching for Captain America.

When his father was gone to the Arctic on one of his many trips, he was taken care of by Jarvis and his wife, Ana. They taught him a lot, things that he would have never learned from his parents.

They taught him self-defense, while Howard forced Obie to teach Tony how to shoot a gun. At age eight. Jarvis and Ana showed him how a loving married couple was supposed to act, versus Howard shoving Maria to the ground while Tony was in the room.

Slowly, Tony turned his at one-point affection for his father to resentment. He resented the alcohol he was so dependent on, he resented the lightness he made of what Maria was going through, he resented how Howard treated Jarvis and Ana and most of all, he resented Steve Rogers.

His father was obsessed with finding his lost friend, the soldier.

His father would leave for months at a time, leaving the house peaceful. Maria was usually asleep, the drugs putting her in a mindset where she was barely able to pick out her clothes, let alone taking care of her child. Ana would put on records and dance around with Tony in the living room, Jarvis watching from the doorway. Jarvis would take him with him wherever he went, if he was leaving the mansion.

And when Howard came back, it was like the whole mansion darkened. He would rage and stomp around, making everyone scatter. Tony, whose legs weren’t as long as the other residents in the house, was often in the way and more than once was sent careening into the wall.

“Captain America would hate you, you waste of air!” He at one point shouted at him.

One comment really stuck with him though, “Stark men are made of iron.” He wouldn’t say that his father was the inspiration for his superhero name but the fact that he bounced back from a lot of things despite people trying to hold him down, said a lot about his will of iron, despite his father.

Tony scoffed at the memory. As if a child crying because you dripped acid on his hand, was somehow his fault.

He would never be good enough, he would never measure up to Steve Rogers or his best friend Bucky Barnes or any of the Howling Commandos or Aunt Peggy or Howard. So, at the age of nine, he said fuck you to his father and started creating his own path.

He was shuffled off to a boarding school as soon as he could read and was only home on the breaks and it was a good thing and a bad thing. He was able to get away from Howard but he was also away from his mother.

A lot of kids would resent their mother for relying on drugs to get her through her day but not Tony. He was worried that she would accidentally overdose and he often called Jarvis and Ana and begged them to keep an eye on her. Ana saved her life a couple times due to his insistence.

And sometimes, Ana and Jarvis would save his life too.

During his breaks, he would, more often than he’d like to admit, get kidnapped.

His kidnappers would break bones over the phone to his father, who always refused to hand over any ransom money. Not a cent.

Usually Aunt Peggy or Jarvis, for whatever reason, would save him.

His father would never visit him in the hospital – his mother wouldn’t know anything about what was going on so Tony didn’t hold it against her but his father knew what was going on.

He overheard his father and Obie talking one day about his injuries, when he was released early from the hospital.

“How is he doing, Howard?” Obie leaned in, faux concerned.

“Jarvis says fine.” Howard curtly replied.

“You didn’t see him?” Obie asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Stark men are made of iron. He needs to stop being such a pussy about it.” Howard continued his task.

Obie’s eyebrows shot up but didn’t say anything more on the subject.

Once he returned to school, he breezed past the boarding school educational requirements, and then Howard sent him off to MIT at age fifteen. Which wasn’t the best social environment for a detached, angry genius to be in. He lost his virginity quickly and became addicted to drugs and alcohol even quicker.

His grades never slipped though.

But Ana and Jarvis’ words about drugs would haunt him in his drug induced stupors and he quit that quickly. But alcohol stayed. He was like his father in that regard, unfortunately.

His father wouldn’t come to any of his award ceremonies, graduation or congratulate him at all. No, Tony was a failure. He went into computer engineering, not engineering full on. Tony knew he was an intelligent kid. He built a circuit board when he was four years old, when he was always seven, he built a V8 motorbike engine, went to college at fifteen, won awards at age sixteen for Robotics and graduated from MIT at age 17.

He knew he was being groomed to take over his father’s position and wanted to give him the middle finger while still completing the studies he wanted to. Tony firmly believed that technology was the future.

But he was like his father in a few regards, unfortunately. He was good looking and used that to his advantage, gaining lovers of both sexes alike. But when his parents were killed when he was 21, he knew that he had to tone it back. And he became more closed off with his affection.

It wasn’t to say that he didn’t love Pepper. He did. He thought he always would in some way. She taught him a lot. A lot about love and about life. But it was clear that they weren’t the be all, end all for each other.

Tony knew he was a lot. He was a lot to deal with. Some people can hang with that, some cannot. And he really thought she could hang, but she couldn’t.

She requested that they give their relationship a break.

But Tony knew what that meant. It meant they weren’t getting back together.

And perhaps it was for the best. He had PTSD, he had anxiety, he makes mistakes, he’s a human being… But maybe it was too much for Pepper. And she was a great woman, she deserved the best. Maybe he wasn’t the best.

The cold was making him sleepy. He worried this would be the last time he would open his eyes.

Last time he’d see Rhodey – his best friend, who was paralyzed due to his call to action, last time he’d talk to Harley, last time he’d see Peter, so many more things he wanted to accomplish that he would never have the chance to.

He wasn’t ready to go – to not open his eyes again and invent again.

He looked around at his surroundings and he really needed to close his eyes and though he fought it, he fell asleep.

Pepper looked at her phone during a brief recess of the meeting she was currently in.

FRIDAY? She wrote.

Miss Potts. FRIDAY replied.

Status report.

Colonel Rhodes is currently at 85% likelihood of being paralyzed. Boss’ suit is still online but he has ejected me from the suit, and I am unable to communicate.

Where is Rhodes?

He is at the hospital in Berlin, the closest specialist to where he was injured.

Get me a plane there, now.

Ticket order #129466745 from Moscow, Russia to Berlin, Germany leaving in one hour. Estimated journey time: six hours and two minutes, no stops. Would you like to confirm?

Confirmed.

Attached is your order number.

Thank you, FRIDAY.

You’re welcome, Miss Potts.

“We will definitely look over the contract, Miss Potts. Would Mr. Stark be able to pencil in a visit?” The representative of Moscow’s translator asked as they filed back into the room.

“I will try and insist. He was very eager to start working with this company. Specifically asked for me to arrange this meeting.” Pepper replied.

An aide rushed in and spoke rapidly in Russian.

The representative made some aggressive movements and the aide grabbed the TV remote, which she almost dropped in her rush to turn on the TV.

Pepper watched as the Russian news played the battle.

She watched as Tony, Rhodey, a red and blue suited male, a black cat-like figure went up against Captain America and his allies. Her hand rose to her mouth, tears rising in her eyes as she watched as Rhodey went down. She turned away as she watched the Scarlet Witch drop car after car on Tony. FRIDAY did tell her about the situation in Siberia but it was a whole other thing to view it in real time. 

She pulled out her phone and opened it. Normally, she wouldn’t do that, but she needed to speak with FRIDAY.

Miss Potts, you need to leave now to catch your plane. There is a driver outside and I have sent your luggage with the driver.

You’re the best, FRIDAY.

Thank you, Miss Potts.

“I’m terribly sorry, gentlemen, but I need to get to Germany. I have a plane leaving in an hour.” Pepper stood up and gathered her papers and put them in her briefcase.

“We understand.” The translator told her as the other representatives spoke rapidly in Russian. “We wish Mr. Stark and War Machine a speedy recovery.”

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked, the only sign that she was stressed. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Thank you. I regret that we couldn’t get further in this meeting. Perhaps a teleconference will suffice.” The representatives nodded. “I will arrange that soon, hopefully with Tony there.”

“We look forward to it. We are eager to work with Stark Industries.” The translator answered for all of them.

She nodded and shook everyone’s hand and made her way to the door.

A driver was waiting outside for her.

“Airport, Miss Potts?” He asked.

“Yes.” She said sharply

“Yes, ma’am.” He meekly replied as he shut the door behind her and went around the car and got into the driver’s seat.

“Quickly, please.” She opened her phone and answered a few emails from the ever so delicate Board of Directors. Please, Tony has done much crazier things, but she would reassure them all the same.

A text came through.

Happy Hogan.

She clicked the message.

You okay? He was concerned. She sighed, looking out the window.

She always knew Happy, he was always there, in the peripheral of her life with Tony. When she requested a break, she had asked Happy on a date. It was 2016, women could totally do that now. He said he would, and they had gone on several dates and she considered him to be an exclusive significant other, but Tony was always on the back of her mind. She loved Tony, she always would. But Happy was steady, calm. She was a calm person, but Tony needed someone emotionally stronger than she was. She couldn’t handle the fear of losing him, the guilt of not answering the phone when he called her before he thought he was going to die – because she was too busy watching the battle unfold on TV.

She knew she had to end it. No breaks, no maybe we will get back together. Completely ended.

She loved Tony but maybe she could love Happy more.

It wasn’t that she never talked to Tony, she did, she talked to him about SI business only. Usually through emails, rarely on the phone. She took her things from the Tower when he was away, which may have been a bitch move but she never claimed to be an angel. She just wanted it to be over, like ripping off a band aid.

She knew that Tony had a lot going on with the Avengers, with his inventing and his company was always on his mind, no matter how much he wanted to portray otherwise.

“Ma’am, we’re here.” The driver told her.

“Oh good.” She happily climbed out of the cab, leaving a tip for the driver in his hand. She felt a little bad about her snapping. He smiled gratefully.

“Safe slight, ma’am.” He bowed his head.

“Health and happiness.” She inclined her head at him. It was something she had started saying in her tenure as CEO. She was influenced by a lot of Asian culture and she thought it was nice and the phrase fit in with her recent obsession with yoga classes and finding inner peace.

She made her way quickly through the airport and was waiting outside the gate.

She realized she hadn’t answered Happy and saw there was more from him.

Have you heard from Tony?

No, I haven’t. Pepper replied. I’m on my way to Germany to see Rhodes. I’m his emergency, he wasn’t sure he could trust Tony to do it.

Okay, keep in touch. Happy replied.

I will.

“Flight 9682 – to Berlin now boarding.” A voice came over. She rose and made her way in line, flashing her ticket on her phone and shuffling along with everyone else.

Berlin, here I come.

Pepper stepped off the commercial plane and into another car, making her way to a private airport, where she would take a specific plane to the hospital. Way too much travel for one day. Hopefully she wouldn’t catch anything.

“Miss Potts, welcome.” An aide greeted her as she entered the hangar.

“Where is Rhodes?” Pepper asked, briskly,

“Still in surgery.” The aide replied. Pepper frowned deeply, her body sagging, despite her wanting to seem strong.

“So, it’s true, then? Rhodey’s possibly paralyzed and god knows where Tony is. Have you heard from him?” She asked, not wanting to hear the answer. If she said that he was missing out loud, then it would be true. And she couldn’t handle that. Not when the last thing she told him, aside from SI business, was she wanted to take a break from their relationship. And he could be laying somewhere, hurt, he could be kidnapped, anything could be happening. And all the what-if’s were flashing around her mind, quicker than she could quiet them.

“We haven’t heard anything. We don’t know for sure. We don’t really know anything. All we know is his suit connection was hard to connect with, verified by his AI. We haven’t heard from her or him since, I assume she is still trying to get through. And that was a day ago.” The aide gestured for Miss Potts to follow her.

“Where was the last signal?” Miss Potts asked.

“It was the oddest thing, on the outskirts of Russia…” The aide responded.

“I was just there.” She sighed, maybe she should have stayed put.

Pepper followed the aide out of the main hanger, walking past Tony’s private two-person plane that he preferred near him, navigated mostly by his AI’s. JARVIS originally and now FRIDAY.

“Colonel Rhodes is in more critical condition. The chopper is over here, Miss Potts.”

Pepper nodded. At the moment, Rhodes was more important. She needed to make some serious decisions for his safety.

Pepper climbed into the helicopter and put on the ear protectors.

It had been over fifteen hours later that she felt her phone vibrate and she opened the screen.

She swore violently, causing the aide to look at her. Damn it, Tony.

Miss Potts, my sensors indicate that Boss’ suit has been forcefully powered down.

Peter was sneaking around the small airport a few hours after Mr. Stark disappeared.

Mr. Stark ordered someone to send him home but, in the chaos, following the Germany airport situation, he was able to sneak away. He hid in some rafters, wanting to know what was happening. But no one was saying anything in the hangar.

Then, an aide appeared in the hangar, pressed a finger to her earpiece and talked quietly. But due to his spider enhanced abilities, he could hear the words.

“Miss Potts has arrived.” She mouthed the words almost silently.

Peter moved silently following the aide, greeting Mr. Stark’s girlfriend.

They had a quiet conversation, getting closer to where Peter was hanging from the ceiling. He could just hear their conversation.

“Where was the last signal?” Miss Potts asked.

“It was the oddest thing, on the outside of Russia…” The aide responded and went out of hearing distance of the two women.

Peter looked down, thinking to himself.

Mr. Stark was a mentor to him, he found him through YouTube and gave him a basic upgrade to his suit, better than the basic suit he had crafted himself and the self-made web fluid. He had always looked up to Mr. Stark – not only because of Iron Man but because of the head of Stark Industries, looked up to even more as they got out of the weapons industry.

Mr. Stark was an entire course at his school, Midtown. They talked about his revolutionary technological advances, how young he was when he made his first accomplishments. Sure, the teachers didn’t like to talk about his alcohol dependency and the number of lovers he went through, but he was a gleaming example of where pure intelligence could get you.

He had countless patents, tons of products clogging the market and his business model was erratic and impossible to pin down, let alone replicate.

Peter especially admired his ingenious tech advances and how he constantly kept improving and tried to help everyone, including the little guy. He helped clean up after the Avengers after the Chitauri invasion, he didn’t see any other Avengers try and help, each of them absorbed into their own lives and jobs after the fight was finished. But Tony arranged for cleaning of the city and to help the families of those who died in the altercation.

And the people are what he was all about. He was the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He cared about the little guy.

What his Uncle Ben would say, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

And Tony Stark exemplified that and he tried to emulate that behavior and that was how Spider-Man was born.

And something about the conversation he just witnessed made his Spidey-sense tingle. Something he knew he had to do.

His eyes caught on a small plane, whose door was left ajar.

Something inside him said, get your spider butt in there.

He looked before sneaking aboard the plane, looking around, seeing if anyone would yell at him being in there.

But there wasn’t a sound to be heard.

He sat in the pilot seat, looking at the sea of knobs and buttons. He stretched out a hand and pulled it back. 

“Peter, this is FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s AI. I can assist in driving the plane. This is Mr. Stark’s private plane.” FRIDAY’s Irish lilt to her voice came through strongly. He jumped. 

“Uh, how can I hear you?” Peter yelped. He recognized FRIDAY’s distinct voice from Mr. Stark’s phone from the limited times they met up to discuss suit modifications and from hearing her when Mr. Stark had his faceplate open and he would be responding to her. 

“Boss put an emergency link in your suit that I can remote into. I think this constitutes as an emergency. I need a physical body to help me assist Boss. That is the one thing I lack.”

“Okay...” Peter drew out the word. “Um, is this kidnapping? Because I really think my Aunt would disapprove.” 

“As if your Aunt would approve of your superhero status?” FRIDAY asked dryly. 

“Um, fair enough.” Peter mumbled. 

“Where were you headed?” FRIDAY asked.

“I want to see if Mr. Stark is okay.” Peter said quietly. “I have a feeling.” He couldn’t quantify it and as a science geek, that made him uneasy, but he felt he had to do something.

FRIDAY was silent for a few moments.

“I will direct you to where we last made contact. We have the same goals: to find Boss.” FRIDAY firmly stated. “If I am within a certain distance, I will be able to find it.”

“Alright, FRIDAY. Punch it.” Peter smirked slightly, laughing to himself at the Star Trek reference, before removing his mask and running his hands through his hair. The plane’s door closed, Peter saw as employees started coming out and waving their hands, trying to get them to stop.

Peter waved cheerily even if they couldn’t see him.

“Stark-01, you do not have permission to fly, repeat, do not have permission to fly.” A voice came over the plane’s intercom.

“This is FRIDAY, I always have permission.” FRIDAY tartly replied. The wheels started moving and picking up speed and Peter kept his eyes open as they started to ascend.

“So, what is it like being Mr. Stark’s AI like?” Peter asked the AI once they were up in the air.

“Stressful.” FRIDAY replied, her sarcasm coming through.

“Didn’t think you could get stressed.” Peter remarked.

“Me either.” FRIDAY’s amused voice came through.

A nerve filled, anxiety ridden twenty-three hours later, they landed in Siberia.

Peter was filled with nerves and thoughts of the worst situations that he could fathom.

He felt better with FRIDAY integrated into his suit, she directed him to the local radar signal she had of Boss’ suit. A drone followed them on their journey.

North, northwest, northeast, east…

Then Peter saw the bunker that he then dismissed in his panic. He rushed forward, scanning the snow for the trademark red and gold.

He caught a glint and charged forward and stopped as he saw the state of the Iron Man suit. FRIDAY didn’t say anything, she was trying to analyze the damage she saw to the suit.

Peter surged forward and sank to his knees as he saw the pallor of his mentor.

He couldn’t be dead.

He just couldn’t.

He just started learning all that Mr. Stark had to teach him. So many more days they could have in the lab, building things together.

“There is life in the suit.” FRIDAY told Peter through their commlink and a huge weight went off his shoulders and he sagged in relief. But he wanted to see for himself. Not that he didn’t trust Friday.

He was extraordinarily pale – almost dead. He took off his glove and pressed two fingers to his neck, right below his chin and he felt a pulse – it was faint, but it was there.

He saw a huge dent in the chest of the Iron Man suit, and he bit back a sob.

He went after the latches that opened the Iron Man suit.

“It would be safer to do so in the plane, without the cold hurting Boss.” FRIDAY helpfully told him.

Peter’s fingers fell to his side.

The last thing he would want to do was hurt Mr. Stark anymore.

Peter looped his arms under the Iron Man suit and made his way to his feet with the suit in his arms. He stepped forward, snow and ice cracking under his feet at the weight and made his way back to the plane, the drone whirring behind him as they walked back to the plane.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated 9/30/20 - complete new plot for chapter 2.

Two

Extremis

As Peter entered the plane, a bed lowered unfolding itself from the wall and Peter made his way over to it. He deposited Tony on the bed gently. The bed was attached to the wall via a couple levers holding the weight. A few drawers opened themselves out of the wall, with a quick view over the drawers, it seemed to hold bandages and antiseptic. A portable, extensive first aid kit.

“Plug me in so I can check his vitals.” FRIDAY requested.

Peter looked along the wall and saw a cord and pulled on it and the cord kept going. He searched the injured chest cavity for an opening.

“On the left pectoral, there is a loose patch of armor. You can plug it in there.” FRIDAY helpfully commented.

Peter moved the armor piece and located the plug-in location. He firmly placed the wire into the armor.

“Reading data.” FRIDAY commented.

From what Peter saw, Mr. Stark did not look good. He didn’t want to think the worst but he hoped that he wouldn’t need surgery after. He knew that Mr. Stark had a few chest surgeries in the last few years.

“Peter.” FRIDAY’s voice was small. A lump appeared in his throat, his throat tightened. He had a bad feeling about what she was about to drop on him.

“FRIDAY.” He levelled returned.

“Peter, he won’t survive the trip to the hospital.” FRIDAY gently informs him.

Peter sank to the floor in shock. He couldn’t believe that Mr. Stark would pass away before they would get to the hospital – to get to medical professionals.

It wasn’t like he could help – he was fifteen years old!

He looked up to Mr. Stark for years. And now they were in contact with each other, which is something he didn’t ever think would happen. He was a super successful and rich inventor and engineer – he would have never expected that they would be in each other’s lives at all. But they were and now that he had – he couldn’t imagine not spending more time with the older man. He couldn’t lose it now that he just started their relationship.

Iron Man had a huge fan base – he knew that if the billionaire passed away prematurely – that almost the entire population would be absolutely heartbroken. Especially the citizens in New York.

In New York, most of the citizens had a good opinion of the billionaire. He sacrificed himself to save New York when they were invaded by the Chitauri army, he arranged cleanup with the government using the Damage Control division, Stark Industries was a huge hiring force, taking a lot of new New York graduates for their ranks, the unemployment rate was lower because of Stark Industries and Mr. Stark was the face of that company.

Even if Pepper Potts was the CEO – everyone tuned in when Tony called for a press conference, even if it was for something as mundane as a software update.

The people loved him.

His emotions were overwhelming him, imagining a life without the bright light of Tony Stark. His vision clouded, his eyes filling with tears. He tore off his mask and dropped it next to him and took off his remaining glove and wiped at his eyes.

Tears wouldn’t help him save Mr. Stark, if he even could save him, which he doubted.

“Boss allowed a protocol, if a situation arose that he was incapacitated to make the decision, someone on the approved list could contact Dr. Cho.” FRIDAY’s voice came out of the speaker above the bed.

Peter looked up at the bed holding Mr. Stark.

“Who is on the list?” Peter croaked.

“Virginia Potts, James Rhodes, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Harley Keener and Harold Hogan.” FRIDAY replied.

Peter knew most of those people but not a couple of them.

“What is the protocol?” Peter asked.

A video popped onto a small screen to his right, he turned his body and looked at the videos of the people getting injected with Extremis, the people screaming in pain.

A person exploded on the screen, making Peter jump.

“He wants me to inject him with that?!” Peter demanded, furious.

“He wanted someone to be able to contact Dr. Helen Cho to administer the injection. He formulated the injection to suit his personal health concerns and to temper the temperature, to make him survive.” FRIDAY responded, calmly.

Peter bit his lip and pondered the injection. Mr. Stark was quite dangerous to himself but if he wanted this injection done and it would save him, perhaps it would be a good idea. 

“I’ll do it.” Peter declared.

“Opening Protocol Save Tony.” FRIDAY intoned.

A phone call started ringing. 

“Cho.” The no nonsense tone made Peter nervous. 

“Dr. Cho, this is FRIDAY. We have a situation.” FRIDAY stated, getting right to the point. 

“What happened?” Cho demanded. 

“Mr. Stark has been really hurt and won’t survive going back to the States. We are in Siberia right now.” Peter spoke really quickly.

There was a pause. 

“Who is this? You sound young.” 

“This is one of the fifteen-year old’s that was on the approval list so I could make this call. His name is Peter Parker and Boss has recently been in touch with.” 

Dr. Cho sighed audibly. 

“You are all extremely lucky that I am at a conference in Novosibirsk. Come to the hospital there. Do you have a copy of the serum?” 

“Yes.” FRIDAY answered. 

“Okay. Looks like there will be an emergency surgery. I’ll see you soon.” 

“Another young superhero. Of course.” Peter imagined she was rubbing her head. 

“What is his chance of survival without this orange stuff?” Peter asked, quietly.

“The survival without Extremis is seven percent.” FRIDAY intones, her voice sad. It pulled at Peter’s heartstrings.

“What is it with Extemis?” Peter asked.

“Eighty nine percent.” FRIDAY replied.

“You are all extremely lucky that I am at a conference in Novosibirsk. Come to the hospital there. Do you have a copy of the serum?” 

“Yes.” FRIDAY answered. 

“Okay. Looks like there will be an emergency surgery. I’ll see you soon.” Dr. Cho disconnected the call. 

“On route to Novosibirsk Hospital. ETA one hour.” FRIDAY stated as the plane started taking off. Peter scrambled to get into the seat and buckled in. 

“Does he still have a chance of survival if we get to Dr. Cho?” He asked. 

“Yes. The percentage change is negligible. Dr. Cho worked with Boss on this serum and she will be the best person for the job.” 

“Okay, good.” 

“Once it is administered and run a few basic tests, he should be able to return to New York with us and focus on healing.” 

“Extra good.” 

“Indeed.” FRIDAY said warmly. 

As soon as the plane touched down, an Asian woman in a white coat ran up the ramp. She clucked her tongue when she saw the state of him. She grabbed the walkie attached to her shoulder, pressing the button. “I got an emergency. Tony Stark, injured from two supersoldiers. Clearance?” 

“Go.” 

As if there were any other decision. The hospital could be granted a lot of goodwill for helping to heal Tony Stark and everyone knew it. They would never refuse. 

She turned and let the staff pick up his body and put it on the stretcher to bring him into the emergency ward. Dr. Cho met the young man she talked to on the phone. 

“Are you hurt?” 

“Uh, no ma’am.” 

“Hmph.” She grunted, looking him over. “No obvious signs of bruising, broken seams on uniform…Might hold true.” 

“I have super healing.” He stated proudly. 

“Eugh.” Dr. Cho groused. “We’ll need to run lots of tests to make sure you’re healthy from whatever freak accident made you suddenly well.” 

“Uh, how’d you know I was not so healthy before?” Peter gaped at her. 

“You’re holding your old inhaler that you no longer need because you’re nervous.” 

Son of … He thought as he looked down. He totally was. Didn’t even register that he still had that habit. 

“Um.” 

“Remind me when this crisis has passed.” 

“Uh, sure!” He said with a falsely bright tone. He would NOT be reminding her, thank you very much. He hated doctors. Plus, she smelled weird. Was making his senses go berserk. 

After that short conversation, Peter was shoved into the waiting room. Dr. Cho would not allow Peter into the room, no matter how much he begged or used his puppy eyes. 

He growled, frustrated. He thought he could distract himself with a magazine but all of it was in Russian! He huffed as he sat down and crossed his arms. He was still in full Spider-Man regalia, no indicator of his true identity. 

Four hours later, the door opened up and Peter leapt to his feet. 

Dr. Cho walked out. 

“It was successful. Let’s see if both of us can get his eyes open. After that, I’ll run an EKG, brain scan and see how his wounds are healing. Then you can go back to New York so Stark can handle the shitstorm coming his way. Good luck to him, he’s going to need it.” She snorted with absolutely zero sympathy. 

Peter tried not to get annoyed at her in Tony’s defense. She did save his life after all. 

He didn’t say a word though, following her dutifully. 

Peter jumped when Mr. Stark’s eyes snapped open right as he got to the bed. Peter placed a hand on his chest, trying to slow his heart from the scare he had. Of course, it regulated itself quickly enough, thanks to his powers.

“Oh good.” Cho shined a light into his eyes and hummed happily at the rate of dilation, making a note on her clipboard. 

But Mr. Stark’s eyes were not the usual warm brown, but bright orange.

Then the orange faded to the brown color and he reached up, his hand reaching his chest.

He then sighed and fell back into a natural sleep, his chest rising and falling with a higher amount of oxygen it seemed.

“Boss has fallen into a natural state of sleep. Extremis integration is complete. We thank you for your assistance, Peter Parker.” FRIDAY’s happy announcement came through the speakers.

“Oh…um, you’re welcome, FRIDAY. Anything for Mr. Stark.” Peter bashfully responded. “Miss FRIDAY, I saw on the video that the Extremis affected people a lot quicker than how long it took Mr. Stark’s to acclimate.”

“Yes, Boss tried to have the Extremis release a little bit over time, so he wouldn’t explode. Seems that it worked to his benefit as he would be very upset if he hurt you in any way.” FRIDAY explained.

Peter tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest.

Seemed that his affection for Mr. Stark perhaps wasn’t as one sided as he thought.

But he didn’t dare say that out loud, that might make someone make him feel stupid for even thinking that.

“Alright, about three hours and he should be good to go. I need his consent so we’re going to have to wake him up.” Cho sighed. Why was it always her who had to piss off people to get them to wake up. She took a scalpel and jammed it into his chest. 

“Hey, lady!” Peter cried out and shoved her back, going to reach for the scalpel when Mr. Stark jack-knifed up and his orange eyes glared at the Doctor. 

“Need tests.” 

“Fine.” Mr. Stark growled. “Don’t stab me next time.” 

“Whatever.” 

Peter looked back and forth between the two but Tony and Peter didn’t get a chance to barely say a work when he was shuffled off to test after test. 

Peter returned to the waiting room with a sigh. He opened another magazine, thinking he could teach himself Russian. Update: he could not. 

“The test results are satisfactory. He will be able to leave on schedule.” FRIDAY spoke into his mask. 

“Good.” 

It seemed like the whole go to Siberia and then the hospital scenario took days but in reality, it was only eighteen hours. Peter felt a lot of highs and lows and he was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. He felt an exhaustion setting in that he didn’t usually feel. The spider bite cured him of a lot of things: asthma, his weak stamina and weak muscles. But he got a lot of side effects that weren’t that awesome. Read: insomnia, accidentally breaking almost everything he touches, leaving his backpacks everywhere when he stops a crime and changes… 

But sooner than he expected he returned to the plane with Mr. Stark in plain clothes and sedated. 

“Is he like alright?” Peter asked worriedly. 

“He’s fine. He needs sleep.” One of the nurses told him gently. 

“Him and me both.” Peter muttered. 

“Well, tell him I said good luck on his health journey.” She said as she left the plane. 

FRIDAY and Peter sat in silence as the doors closed. 

“So, like where did his suit go?” Peter asked. 

“It was always an option that the suit would disappear into his hallows of his bones, providing a defense that he would always have. We weren’t hopeful for it but I am grateful Boss has another layer of protection.” 

“Yeah, that is handy.” 

“Well, settle in Peter. Setting route to Avengers Tower. Estimated transportation time – thirteen hours.” FRIDAY informed him.

“Jeez, that’s a long time.” Peter slouched in the chair as they started taking off into the air. 

The next few hours passed by slowly, Peter was dozing slightly.

The Captain America fight tired him out and then going against the Falcon and Winter Soldier was a lot. Even for him.

His age showed, he was clearly stronger than any of the people he went up against, but his battle instincts weren’t as sharp as the people he went up against.

He should look into improving that.

Peter leaned his head back and sighed.

Sure, he was helping but was he really doing a lot? Was he just as big of a loser as Flash always said he was?

Peter wasn’t sure.

He knew he was doing something great by helping the people of Queens. But he also felt the guilt of his Uncle Ben quite heavily. He felt it at every success, at every failure.

He knew he had to keep doing extremely well in school so he could qualify for a scholarship that only the upper GPA students were entitled to and even then, May worked overtime to afford him going to that school.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the backpacks he kept losing, the books he had to replace, the suit parts he had to steal from the garbage.

“Would I be able to watch something?” Peter asked, bored to tears.

“Of course.” FRIDAY pulled up a blank screen on the screen that previously displayed the Extremis videos. “What would you like to watch?”

“Star Wars: A New Hope.” Peter sighed as he made himself comfortable in front of the screen, watching the movie, hoping to pass the time.

He watched a couple more movies as the hours crawled by, half watching the movie and half dozing.

He wasn’t overly fond of planes.

His parents were killed in an airplane accident when he was four and he was then carted off to Queens, to live with his aunt and uncle. He barely remembered his parents, but apparently his father was a geneticist and his mother a scientist. Guess that’s where he gets a lot of his intelligence from. He grew up in a happy home, his aunt and uncle weren’t rich but they were happy. They didn’t have a lot of money but they always gave him what he needed.

Uncle Ben worked overtime in order to afford tickets to a Stark Expo that was happening shortly after Mr. Stark’s return to the States after Afghanistan. He put on his Iron Man costume and fake repulsors that he made himself and faced off against one of Hammer’s drones that thought he was Iron Man.

He got scolded by both Aunt May and Uncle Ben for that. But that didn’t matter to him. Nice job, kid. He had commended him. Him! Just some kid at his expo.

It started a hero worship but never went into a direction where he was super obvious about it.

He researched Mr. Stark and all that he had done and he was astonished what he found out. Graduated college at fifteen, built a v8 engine when he was super young, made super advanced weapons… It was practically unheard of to have a CEO that young and for him to keep churning new products out left and right.

He told himself that he should emulate Mr. Stark’s dedication to his chosen field, but he definitely didn’t want to create weapons, no way. But he did want to be an engineer. He wanted to honor his birth parents and try and achieve what Uncle Ben and Aunt May always thought he could. A doctorate. Well, at least a master’s.

His aunt and uncle were always encouraging him to get into as many advanced courses as he could, from a young age. He could have skipped grades, not unlike Mr. Stark, but his aunt and uncle didn’t want to interrupt his social growth. Well, jokes on them because he was super weird and a loser at school and only had a couple friends. Even at a super smart school like Midtown.

But he aced all his advanced courses and he was on track to get into a really good college.

Then his uncle died. Right after he got bit by the blue and red colored spider. He was heartbroken. This man did so much for Peter and he never even got to see his awards and accolades or even him graduate.

But May was still there. She was working super hard to keep their apartment they always had with Uncle Ben and he knew there was struggles with money, but she never let it spill. But he stopped asking for more Lego sets to build with Ned or extra lunch money, always accepting the apple as he walked out of the door.

He heard her cry as she went to sleep more than once. He saw her card decline more than once and she quietly put what she wanted back, embarrassed but keeping what Peter needed on the conveyer belt.

When he got hit with the spider bite and then Uncle Ben’s death, he never let his grades slip. They stayed the same and even when he started patrolling, he didn’t let his grades slip.

He wanted to make sure he used his power responsibly. Helping the little people in his neighborhood. Stopping thieves, bank robbers, helping old ladies across the street, helping kittens get out of trees, just normal friendly neighborhood Spider-Man things.

He was so excited when Mr. Stark asked him to come along to Germany to help talk to Captain America. Like, he was going to meet the Avengers! Like the ones on TV!

But then he realized that he was going into a battle, two adult males who had strength but differing viewpoints, who collided in their justification. And people got hurt. Colonel Rhodes might be paralyzed, Ant-Man got into Mr. Stark’s suit and could have caused serious damage to it, Captain America dropped an airport hallway thing on him, Scarlet Witch dropped cars on Mr. Stark and threw Black Widow into a truck.

He was in way over his head. He was warring with himself. On one hand, he was like he could handle it! He was Spider-Man, he had these freaky powers and he could withstand a lot of pain, a lot of fights… But on the other hand, look at Mr. Stark – his chest was significantly damaged, Colonel Rhodes might be disabled… It wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t an easy thing to want to be a superhero.

He knows that he should, as he could help a lot of people with these powers but on the other hand, people he loved could get hurt. People could come after him.

He had a lot to think about if he wanted to do this for real…

And he had not even begun to explore the rest of his powers yet. So many things yet to be discovered.

He supposed that would come with training. If he could even get training. Does anyone else have any spider powers that he could talk to? He sighed. This superhero thing was so complicated. 

He turned to the side and saw the a glimmer of red on the other side of the silver shield that they recovered in Siberia. He got up and looked at it when he turned it around. 

Captain America.

Peter’s fist clenched as he looked at the sleeping form of Mr. Stark. 

Peter thought that Captain America and Iron Man were friends. 

Not anymore, apparently.


	3. Return to New York

Three

Return to New York

Tony’s eyes fluttered open and he tried to place where he was. 

He felt movement underneath him and air flying. He was either in his suit or a plane. 

He groaned as his head pounded, closing his eyes in pain. Memories swam over him, he was recovering after going up against two super soldiers. No wonder he felt like a truck ran over him.  
He heard movement and he opened his eyes and saw concerned brown eyes looking over him. 

“Mr. Stark.” He breathed, as if he couldn’t believe he was awake. 

“Kid.” The Spiderkid sagged in happiness. 

“Omigod, I can’t believe that worked. Well, I can – I trust FRIDAY but I am so happy you’re awake…” The kid’s eyes started to water and spill over. He wiped his eyes quickly. “Sorry, let me get you out of these restraints.” He bent over and pulled at the straps and Tony felt some pressure release on his legs. 

Tony felt pressure in his head pound. 

“Ugh. My head.” Tony groaned. “FRIDAY?” 

“We aren’t sure what ramifications this decision will have on your abilities, Boss. I am unable to determine a cause for your current headache.” FRIDAY sounded regretful. 

But Tony understood what FRIDAY was saying. It seemed that Extremis was required to save his life.

He needed to run more tests. 

“Fifteen minutes until reaching Avengers Tower.” FRIDAY updated them. 

“FRIDAY, change name to Stark Tower, effective immediately.” Tony ordered. 

“Yes, Boss.” FRIDAY acknowledged. 

“Revoke access from Rogers, Romanoff, Barton, Maximoff, and Wilson. Remove Rogers from my medical list.” Tony also ordered. 

“Done, sir.” FRIDAY’s voice hardened. 

“Mr. Stark, did I do okay in Germany?” The kid’s voice was small. 

Tony sat up slowly, his head pounding in protest. 

“Kid, you did amazing.” Tony reassured the kid. He didn’t look very reassured. He looked very small and young with his mask and gloves off, big brown eyes watering. He couldn’t help but pull the kid into a hug. 

The kid clung to him, hugging him tightly. His body protested and it was a testament to Peter’s strength as Extremis definitely increased his pain tolerance, even more than he already had. 

He had a rough life, before he became Iron Man, he was kidnapped several times as a child, to try and get to Howard Stark. It never worked, they broke bones over the phone, to get Howard to cave, hearing his son scream in pain but he was unmovable. He couldn’t count how many bones that had been broken, whether due to his own stupidity or the stupid kidnappers breaking his bones.

His Aunt Peggy Carter always rescued him though. 

He had a high tolerance for pain before Iron Man and it kept getting higher and higher and now with Extremis, it was kind of insane. 

Peter stepped back, looking uncomfortable and embarrassed. 

Tony tried to get his bearings, looking around the plane. It was his personal plane that he had FRIDAY fly to Germany in case he needed it, for any reason. 

“How did you get FRIDAY to fly the plane to rescue me?” Tony asked. 

“FRIDAY hacked KAREN and I told her I wanted to help you so she flew me to where she lost signal.” Peter answered as he picked up a couple granola wrappers and a bottle of water and folded up the blanket and placed them where he found it, or in the trash slash recycling bin. 

“FRIDAY, did you do that?” Tony asked his AI. 

“Yes.” She answered. Tony waited for the reason. 

“Why…” He prompted. 

“It is one of our primary objectives left over from JARVIS to ensure the safety and health of Sir. I will always do what I can to make sure that you are safe.” FRIDAY replied smugly. 

Tony shook his head. 

“The sass. I swear, I didn’t program her like this.” Tony jokingly complained. 

Peter smiled slightly. 

“Well, you did program her, so it is ultimately your fault.” Peter teased. 

“The sass! I’m surrounded!” He jokingly verbally sparred with Peter. 

Peter laughed genuinely but didn’t respond. 

“Approaching Stark Tower.” FRIDAY’s voice declared. 

“We better make our way to the seats, for safety.” Tony stated. 

He attempted to get to his feet but he was exhausted from the Extremis acclimation. His knees buckled underneath him. 

Peter quickly took a lot of his weight and gently guided him to the pilot’s seat, allowing Tony to buckle himself in and Peter took the co-pilot’s chair and strapped in. 

The plane started to gently descend. 

When FRIDAY declared it safe, Peter assisted Tony out of the plane and to the penthouse suite, the doors opening to admit the two males into the tower. 

“Is Pepper here?” Tony asked FRIDAY. 

But Peter answered. 

“No, she’s in Germany.” Peter answered. Tony’s head reared back, which made his head pulse. 

“What? Why?” Tony asked. 

“I honestly have no idea, I saw her there before I snuck on the plane.” Peter shrugged. “Which way is your bedroom?” He asked. 

“I will direct you.” FRIDAY started giving directions. He made his way to his bedroom and folded down the blanket, helping Mr. Stark get under the blanket. He looked an inch from sleep. He took off his shoes. He hit the lights on his way out, knowing the best thing for Mr. Stark was sleep. 

“Sleep well, Mr. Stark. I’ll stop by and see you tomorrow.” 

“See you, Spiderkid.” He sleepily replied. 

“It’s Spider-Man.” He playfully rebutted. 

“I know.” Tony smiled before falling asleep. 

Peter made his way to the doors. 

“FRIDAY, I will talk to you later.” He smiled as he made his way out of the building and used his web fluid to swing through Manhattan to his Queens apartment, looking for trouble along the way. 

He made his way into his bedroom and took his suit off, changing into sweatpants and an old t-shirt. 

He went to his desk drawer and pulled out the old Iron Man mask that he wore to the Stark Expo, where he faced down a Hammer drone. 

Nice job, kid. Which is what he heard when he was younger. 

Kid, you did amazing. Which is what he heard now. 

Despite his failing in Germany, he was proud of himself. He saved Mr. Stark and nobody could never take that from him. 

“Peter! Dinner!” May called. 

Phew, just in time, he thought to himself as he pulled off his mask. 

“Coming!” 

Tony eyes snapped open and he took in the familiar ceiling and looked over to see Pepper next to him and then remembered that she moved out a couple months ago. 

Got a fancy new apartment and moved away from his anxiety ridden, PTSD ass. 

He sighed, sitting up, the sheet bunching around his waist. 

He thought about the weather and it appears in his head. 

What the hell…

“Um, FRIDAY?” He asked his AI.

“Yes, Boss?” She responded instantly. 

“I think I might have found an effect of Extremis.” He stated. 

“Oh? I shall document.” She stated. 

“I think I have the internet in my head.” Tony stated, unbelieving the words that were coming out of his mouth. 

“This will require more evidence.” FRIDAY declared after a moment of silence. 

“Yes.” Tony tried to communicate with FRIDAY without speaking and he could instantly. 

“This is weird.” She stated, communicating back at him silently. “Almost like writing an email but not…” She said aloud, her voice was confused. 

“Did Peter make it home okay?” He asked as he went to his closet to grab a sweatshirt and fresh pants to wear. He placed them on the counter as he started a warm shower. 

“Yes, he made it home safe.” FRIDAY answered as she started the shower to the appropriate temperature he preferred. 

He started shampooing his hair and beard and thoughts were coming to him. 

“FRIDAY, start a new list.” He rubbed the soap through his mustache. 

“New list created.” FRIDAY responded. 

“Remove Avengers symbol from the side of my tower and replace with the SI symbol. This is my tower.” He said. 

“Noted.” 

“Order a team to redesign and replace the floors of the tower.” He rinsed his hair and face. 

“Done. Boss, there is a call coming in from Thaddeus Ross. Would you like me to patch through?” FRIDAY asked. 

“No. I’m still asleep.” Tony answered succinctly. 

“Yes, sir.” FRIDAY affirmed proudly. 

“Any important emails that can’t be delegated to someone else?” Tony asked. 

“No. James Rhodes has pulled through his surgery following the ‘Civil War’, as the media is calling it.” A rock settled in his stomach. His best friend was paralyzed. 

“And?” He was afraid to ask. 

“He has been paralyzed from the waist down.”

“New note, braces to create mobility.” He ordered firmly.

“Noted, sir.” 

Peter swung from building to building, after school the following day patrolling the familiar streets with ease. 

He rescued two kittens and helped three elderly ladies across the street. 

Just another day in the life of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. 

Once he felt satisfied that the streets were safe, he made his way to Stark Tower. 

He landed on the top floor and the doors opened for him. 

He stepped in and saw Mr. Stark working on something in the living area, a holographic projection played out in front of him, him pressing buttons on the projection and making things happen. 

Peter wasn’t going to pretend to understand what was going on. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark. You’re looking better.” Peter greeted the inventor. 

Tony turned and looked at the kid. 

“Underoos!” He seemed happy to see him. “I have some new revisions to your suit, I want to know what you think of it. Come!” He waved him over. 

Peter sat down next to him and minimized a working model of braces. 

It was obviously for his friend Colonel Rhodes, who became paralyzed due to the events of what his peers were calling the Civil War. 

Tony pulled up a new and improved suit and Peter peered closer, impressed with the improvements. 

“Wicked.” He breathed. 

“I know, right?” Tony bounced up and down in his seat. “So this improvement helps…” and he got lost in the explanation of the suit. 

Eventually, their conversation winded down and Peter and Tony were talking about random things. Whether they liked the old Star Trek or newer Star Trek better. They agreed to disagree.

As the conversation was winding down, Peter thought of a question to ask Mr. Stark.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked. 

“Kid, call me Tony.” He responded, peering up at him with those big brown eyes. 

“Okay, Tony…So our cover story was that I am an intern. Can I actually be one?” Peter asked timidly. 

“Course! We have accepted high school age students before, none have come close in recent years but you are definitely smarter than a lot of my college interns I have in R&D. Did you want a tour when we’re back online? I gave the employees some time off so I can figure out my next move, business wise.” 

Makes sense. 

And Tony wasn’t just talking out of his ass either about Peter’s intelligence. He easily kept up with Tony’s technical engineering of the suit upgrades that Tony wanted to implement and gave ideas of his own. Usually, when Tony talked to people, it was like he was talking to himself but with Peter, who actually understood what he was saying and for him to be so young, it was really an accomplishment. 

“Shouldn’t you check with someone first? Like Ms. Potts for example, you know, your CEO.” 

Tony sighed and nodded. 

“Guess I have to be an adult and have an adult conversation with my ex-girlfriend who’s now dating my driver, huh?” Tony groused as he got to his feet. 

“Uh…” Peter said, awkwardly, not knowing how to respond. 

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I’ll be right back. Put on Disney Channel or something.” He waved at the TV. 

“Mr. Stark, I’m not five!” He complained. “And the Disney Channel sucks nowadays.” He mumbled. 

“It’s Tony!” He yelled as a response as he was walking to his personal office on his floor. 

He closed the door with a quiet click. 

“FRIDAY, call Pepper.” He said as he rolled his fingers over his forehead. Thanks to Extremis, he doesn’t really get headaches but that didn’t mean he wanted to talk to Pepper right away. He knew that the break-up was for the best but he was still a little bitter about it. 

“Potts.” She curtly answered. 

“You have caller ID, you know it’s me.” Tony grumbled. 

“What do you want, Tony?” She sharply asked. 

“I want an intern application sent over to FRIDAY ASAP. I’ve been working with a kid and he’s great. Want it to be official.” Tony told her. 

“Working with, like science stuff or working with, like Avengers stuff?” She questioned. Just like she questioned every decision he ever made. 

“Is it any of your concern? It’s what I am asking for.” Tony stated, his tone cutting. 

“Fine. Anything else?” Pepper bit out. 

“Nope. I’m alive, by the way.” He told her. 

“FRIDAY told me. I informed the board.” She replied. He scoffed. 

“Yeah, because that’s the reason I told you. Bye, Ms. Potts.” He waved his hand and the call ended. He sighed. Back to fighting, I guess. 

FRIDAY sent him a message to his mind. 

Printing Peter Parker’s application now. 

The printer whirred to life and six pages came out. 

He grabbed them and a pen and walked out to the living area. 

“Here you go, kid. Have your aunt help you fill them out and sign them.” He handed the papers over to Peter, who grabbed them gratefully. 

“Great! This will look awesome on my college applications!” He grinned, excited. 

“I have pull at MIT if you’re interested.” Tony offered. 

“Maybe… MIT isn’t too far away. I’d like to stay close to May. But it’s a decision I won’t have to make right away.” Peter folded up the packet and unzipped his costume to stuff it inside and zipped it back up. 

“See you, kid. Let me know that you’re home safe.” Tony ruffled his hair before Peter put the mask on. 

“I will, bye Mr. Stark.” He used his webbing to zoom out of the room. 

“It’s Tony…” He stated, even though Peter left. 

A smile came unbidden to his lips. He was the best kid. 

The best. 

Tony looked out upon the city of Manhattan. He sipped a blueberry smoothie, watching the sun rise. He was still quite shaken from his time in Siberia. He underwent a lot of trauma in a short period of time. 

He couldn’t get the image out of his head of the Winter Soldier, choking his mother to death. 

And granted, he was acting out in a place of pure grief, but he didn’t place blame for his parents’ death on Barnes. He blamed HYDRA and he planned on continuing that mindset. 

But he also felt a lot of guilt for blaming his father this whole time. 

Granted, his father’s actions made a drunk driving accident very plausible but he tried to protect her and that was what mattered at this point in time. 

But his reaction, he blamed 50% on him and 50% on Rogers. If he had been his true friend, he would have told him. Instead of using his resources to find his mother’s murderer. Kind of screwed up but Tony was no stranger to that. 

Rogers, in his wanting to protect his BFF, Barnes, forgot that Tony was a squishy human. He wasn’t now but he was then. And that was the reason he needed Extremis. Thank god for it, otherwise he would be dead. 

No more conversations with Harley, no more Peter, who he’d just met and felt a kindred spirit within. No more bots, no more Rhodey, even no more Pepper, even if they just had a fight.

He was close to death, in that moment. 

He had been close to death a lot of time but this time, he realized something. He didn’t want to go yet. He had a lot more things he wanted to accomplish. 

He needed to make some changes. And he was going to start with Peter. He wasn’t going to screw this mentorship he has with Peter. 

He was going to be the best mentor that he could be. 

His eyes went to the alcohol cabinet behind the bar and he frowned, walking over to it. 

He unlocked it and emptied every single bottle, every drop of hard liquor and wine.

He felt a weight lift off him. He threw away Pepper’s favorite wines with a little more joy than he should have, Rhodey’s favorite brews and his exquisite Scotch collection. 

He didn’t need to be any more like his father. No alcohol dependency around kids. Even if they were teenagers already. He would be sober. Period.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos, views and comments! I appreciate it! 
> 
> You can view my twitter @aware_mermaid for notifications of delays for chapters, etc.


	4. Chapter 4

Four 

The Accords 

  
Peter walked into his school the next morning, not realizing what all the chatter was about. 

Ned made his way over to him almost immediately and immediately asked him, “Did you see the video?” He shout-whispered. 

“See what video?” Peter tilted his head. 

Ned sighed and pulled out his smartphone and unlocked it with a swipe. 

He pulled up Twitter and under trending was Captain America. 

Ned opened one of the videos and Peter watched in silent horror what he saw the after effects of on Mr. Stark’s suit. 

He saw Mr. Stark fighting against two super soldiers and losing. 

He heard the conversation. 

_He’s my friend._

_So was I. ___

__So was I._ _

__Their friendship was severed from this skirmish._ _

__He watched as Captain America slammed his fist into his head, the faceplate flying off. Iron Man was holding his own against him and then Captain America disabled the suit, slamming his shield into it._ _

__Peter’s throat tightened, his eyes watering. He knew that Mr. Stark was okay._ _

__Ned closed out of the video with a swipe and pulled up a tweet._ _

___Civil War consequences – is Iron Man Dead?_ _ _

___Haven’t seen or heard anything from SI about Stark. Is he alright?_ _ _

___Whoa, did Cap kill Iron Man? Not cool… No matter how much you disagree, you shouldn’t kill them over it. Respect lost._ _ _

___Iron Man deserved it, he’s a snake. ____ _

____“No phones!” A teacher came circling around Peter and Ned, seeing the phone. “Put it away, Mr. Leeds, now.”_ _ _ _

____Ned quickly pocketed the device._ _ _ _

____“This is another warning!” The teacher yelled up and down the hall. “No politics in the hallways! No fighting over people that don’t even know you! Captain America and Tony Stark don’t know who any of you are and never will! They don’t care about your opinions!”_ _ _ _

____Peter huffed a laugh. He did know Mr. Stark and Mr. Stark knew him._ _ _ _

____“Is he alive?” Ned whispered, trying not to get the attention of the teacher still yelling._ _ _ _

____“Yes.” He whispered back. “He’s alright. He almost died though.” Peter remarked. Ned gasped._ _ _ _

____“Really?” Ned whispered._ _ _ _

____The bell rang._ _ _ _

____“Come on, we have to get to Civics. I’m glad I get to suffer with you.” Peter playfully punched his shoulder as Ned smiled at him, the video forgotten between the two of them as Ned pocketed his phone and pulled on his backpack strap._ _ _ _

____“I’m sure MJ suffers the most for both of us.” Ned remarked. Peter laughed._ _ _ _

____“Come on, losers.” MJ snarked as she led the way her black hair flowing over her shoulders, curls bouncing unrepentant. “We’ll be late.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____Miss Crandall, Peter’s Civics teacher cleared her throat, getting the attention of the class. They settled down and she smiled gently at the class._ _ _ _

____“I am sure that we have all seen the video that is trending across social media. This is a reminder to keep things civil and out of the hallways. We talk to each other with respect at Midtown.” Peter scoffed under his breath. Yeah, right. She took a marker laying in the tray and wrote on the board – The Sokovia Accords. “These superheroes weren’t fighting just to fight. It was about issues they were passionate about.” Miss Crandall turned to the class._ _ _ _

____“I want you to pick a point and do your research and write a paper on a topic that you are passionate about.” Miss Crandall stated, turning back around. “Politics are good topics, as are current events in this country that you can form a paper on. This will be an opinion paper. You will research a topic, state your opinion on it and tell me about the other side of the argument. You will pick the topics now, so that I am not reading twenty of the same papers.”_ _ _ _

____“So, who is first?” Peter was shocked when his own hand shot in the air. Miss Crandall’s eyebrow rose in surprise._ _ _ _

____“Peter.”_ _ _ _

____“I would like the biometric data, power measure and tracking bracelet topic from the Accords, please.” Peter replied succinctly._ _ _ _

____“Of course, for or against?” Miss Crandall asked._ _ _ _

____“Against.” Miss Crandall jotted his name next to the line. The rest of the students chose a topic. “Now, that the topics are assigned, let us start a little bit of a debate about the Accords. Who’d like to start? Michelle?” She chose her most opinionated and passionate student._ _ _ _

____“That law-breaking individuals may be held indefinitely for trial. That is not only unconstitutional but against basic human rights. People have a right to a prompt trial. It is what our forefathers and mothers fought for and I don’t think it’s right for a document to circumvent that.” Michelle stated._ _ _ _

____“It is a very good point.”_ _ _ _

____“Well, if you break the law then you deserve it.” Another student responded._ _ _ _

____“Another good point. Your rebuttal, Michelle?”_ _ _ _

____“If someone breaks the law, they deserve the right to a fair and right trial. Who is the jury of their peers? Who is not going to be biased in one way or another? These Accords need a lot more time to iron out all the kinks before I think anyone should be held to them.” Michelle stated with finality._ _ _ _

____“Okay, let us talk about Peter’s topic. Peter, what are your initial thoughts, before completing any research. The ideas may be rough in the beginning, I know you said against, but you may not know what side you will be on ultimately...”_ _ _ _

____“I am against the biometric data being required.” Peter said firmly._ _ _ _

____“May I ask why?”_ _ _ _

____“You don’t think, in today’s age of betrayal, corporate espionage, untrustworthiness, that any enhanced person should trust anyone with their blood, DNA, biometric material?” Peter scoffed. “No. I wouldn’t trust, if I were enhanced…” He interjected quickly. He was getting a little heated about this topic… “I wouldn’t trust anyone with an ounce of sweat, let alone anything else that they could use to recreate the enhanced individual’s abilities.” Peter stated firmly._ _ _ _

____“We don’t know that they’ll be used for that purpose, weirdo. What a stupid length to go to.” Flash scoffed._ _ _ _

____“This coming from the guy who’s convinced they cryo froze Walt Disney so they could clone him…” Peter sarcastically commented._ _ _ _

____“Boys, back to the topic at hand!” Miss Crandall clapped her hands._ _ _ _

____“What about the power measuring? Isn’t that good?” A student answered._ _ _ _

____“What, so they can control them even more? By restricting those who have powers that they deem too strong?” Peter scoffed, feeling more and more salty about the whole situation._ _ _ _

____He had lots he wanted to talk to Mr. Stark about when he got the chance._ _ _ _

____The bell rang, pulling him out of his thoughts._ _ _ _

____“I am assigning a paper on the Accords – you know the drill, font 12, Times New Roman, double spaced, MLA format, the usual format listed on your syllabus that I gave out at the beginning of the semester.” Miss Crandall informed them. “Great conversations today everyone! Especially you, Peter. Keep it up. Can’t wait to read your papers. The opinion paper is due in one month, don’t leave it to the last minute!” She said as she dismissed them, turning to the board and wiped the eraser over the marker, making the words dissolve._ _ _ _

____“Oh, uh, thanks!” Peter responded as he scurried out of the classroom._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____Peter made his way home that afternoon, thinking a lot about the Civics class and what he was really fighting for that day in Germany. He didn’t think that the other side was right but maybe his side wasn’t as correct either._ _ _ _

____MJ was right._ _ _ _

____The Accords had a long way to go before he would agree to anything._ _ _ _

____He let himself into his apartment, looking for Aunt May but didn’t hear anything. She must still be at work._ _ _ _

____Peter thought back to the interactions that he had with Captain America._ _ _ _

____Mr. Stark said you were wrong and you think you’re right. That makes you dangerous._ _ _ _

____Well, he’s got one thing right._ _ _ _

____He opened his door and he didn’t realize how much Captain America memorabilia that he had._ _ _ _

____Time to change that._ _ _ _

____Nothing personal, Steve, but he looked up to Tony more than he looked up to Captain America right now._ _ _ _

____He tore down the posters, dug out his collectibles and tossed them all into a box._ _ _ _

____Peter turned on his heel, wearing the Spider-Man suit underneath his bathroom and froze when he saw his aunt in the doorway. Her mouth was agape._ _ _ _

____“What the…” She gaped at him._ _ _ _

____“Oh. Uh, hi, May. You’re home early?” He rubbed the back of his head, awkwardly laughing. May’s face didn’t change._ _ _ _

____“Please tell me you’re dressing up as him and not actually Spider-Man, because I don’t think I could take it.” May pleaded, her brown eyes searching his face._ _ _ _

____Peter really hated lying. And to be quite honest, he wasn’t very good at it._ _ _ _

____“Um…yeah! That’s right!” He hoped he was convincing._ _ _ _

____May looked very unimpressed. He wilted._ _ _ _

____“Peter Benjamin Parker, are you parading around as Spider-Man?” She shrieked, stepping into the room, her fists clenched by her sides._ _ _ _

____“Um, yes?” He took a step back. He knew she would never hurt him but he was still wary. She was scary when she was mad, like all other women that he knew. Especially MJ._ _ _ _

____“How?” She crossed her arms and levelled a stare at him._ _ _ _

____“Um…A Oscorp field trip? I got bit by a spider?” He tried._ _ _ _

____“Are you asking me or telling me?” May looked unimpressed._ _ _ _

____“Telling.” He nodded firmly. May continued to stare at him._ _ _ _

____“Uh huh…” She trailed off, not believing him for a second. “And how exactly did you end up in Germany when you were supposed to be in an internship?”_ _ _ _

____“Um…” He tried to stall, thinking of a lie._ _ _ _

____“The truth, Peter, you suck at lying.” May wasn’t going to let him sneak out of this conversation._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, I know.” Peter sighed. “Mr. Stark found out I was Spider-Man and made up an internship and needed my help in Germany. To try and stop Captain America.”_ _ _ _

____“Peter, you’re fifteen years old!” She cried out, outraged that an adult would put her nephew in such risk._ _ _ _

____“I can handle it! I’m super strong and I heal really quickly!” He tried to defend Mr. Stark._ _ _ _

____“Get Stark on the phone. Now.” Her glare increased. Peter walked to his desk and grabbed his phone and went through the contacts. He looked up at her. “Peter Benjamin Parker, do not make me ask again.”_ _ _ _

____Peter gulped and pressed the button._ _ _ _

____“Peter?” Mr. Stark’s voice came through the phone._ _ _ _

____“Um, hi. You’re on speaker. Aunt May found out.” Peter wished the ground would swallow him up._ _ _ _

____Mr. Stark sighed._ _ _ _

____“Hello, Mrs. Parker.” He greeted her, his voice falsely bright._ _ _ _

____“Cut the bullshit, Stark. How could you?” Much to Peter’s horror, her voice cracked with emotion, tears gathering in her eyes._ _ _ _

____“Mrs. Parker…” Mr. Stark started to say._ _ _ _

____“No! He’s the only person I have left!” She shouted. “Ben’s gone, I have no family, Peter’s it! And he could have died!” She stopped her yelling to bury her face in her hands._ _ _ _

____Peter moved forward and wrapped his arms around her, her arms winding around his back._ _ _ _

____“Mrs. Parker.” Tony seemed very uncomfortable. “When I found out about Peter, he was swinging around in pajamas and self-made web fluid.”_ _ _ _

____Peter stepped back and glared at the phone._ _ _ _

____“They were not pajamas!” He cried out._ _ _ _

____“Uh-huh and I’m not Tony Stark.” Mr. Stark’s voice was deadpan. “Mrs. Parker, I gave him a multi-million-dollar suit, protection – a lot more that he would have been able to get for himself – ways to get in touch with me, lab time with me to improve the suit in ways that he had found lacking… He has a lot more benefits than he did before.”_ _ _ _

____“That doesn’t explain Germany.” May wiped away some tears from her face._ _ _ _

____“No, it doesn’t. Look, I think we should talk face to face about Peter and superheroes and all of it. Some things I don’t want to talk about over the phone. Any time you want.” Mr. Stark offered._ _ _ _

____“Thursday. 4 pm.” May informed him._ _ _ _

____“Sure. No problem. We can talk then.” Mr. Stark agreed easily._ _ _ _

____“Sorry, Mr. Stark.” He apologized._ _ _ _

____“Don’t ever apologize for having people who love you. You’re very lucky, Peter.” Mr. Stark’s tone made him look at May’s glistening eyes. Her eyes showing her love for him and he knew that’s where the anger came from. A place of love._ _ _ _

____“Can I still go talk to Mr. Stark tomorrow, Aunt May? I had some questions for him.” Peter pleaded with his eyes._ _ _ _

____“Very briefly. No superhero talk until our meeting.” She said sternly._ _ _ _

____“You heard the woman, Pete. We can talk about other things. Like science.” Mr. Stark agreed amiably._ _ _ _

____“Okay, bye Mr. Stark, see you tomorrow.” Mr. Stark said his goodbyes and May remained silent, her eyes still red from the tears._ _ _ _

____“So…” She tried, her voice clogged. She cleared her throat and tried again. “What is the box for?” She asked._ _ _ _

____“It’s my Captain America stuff, I don’t want it in here anymore. It’s going into my closet.” Peter gestured to the space he made on the shelf in his closet._ _ _ _

____“Is there a reason?” She twirled back to face him after seeing what he was pointing to._ _ _ _

____“Have you gone on Facebook or anything? He’s all over it.” Peter sighed._ _ _ _

____“Yes, but who knows if that was real… Anything can be faked. I thought the YouTube videos were fake.” May let out a bitter laugh. “Stupid.”_ _ _ _

____Peter swallowed._ _ _ _

____“Well, obviously, I was in Germany and I fought against Captain America. It was crazy. Mr. Stark wanted me to web up the Captain America side – not get involved. They were supposedly all friends…well, they were…Not sure about now.” Peter trailed off, thinking back to the battle. He shook himself out of his thoughts. “I mean, it was kind of cool. I stopped a super soldier’s punch from a metal arm. I stole Captain America’s shield, but then again, I also got an airplane hangar dropped on me…” He trailed off._ _ _ _

____“What!” She shrieked._ _ _ _

____“Anyways…” He hastily changed the subject. “The video was real. I saw the suit afterwards, Mr. Stark almost died. He would have, if I wasn’t there.” He shrugged. “I’ll take whatever punishment you want to give me, but I think I did the right thing. And I don’t regret my decision.” He stated firmly._ _ _ _

____May stared at him and her eyes started tearing up. Peter wilted and surged forward and wrapped her in a hug._ _ _ _

____“Oh, May, don’t start crying again. You know Ben and I could never handle that…” Peter pleaded. May laughed wetly._ _ _ _

____“No, you two never could.” She pulled Peter’s face up, so she could look at his face. “How could you go from being at a Stark Expo facing up against drones to being such a mature teenager…God, I wish Ben could be here to see you. He’d be so proud. Angry but proud.” She ran her fingers across his skin, memorizing his face. The time goes by so quickly. It seemed just yesterday that he was just a child._ _ _ _

____“I wish he could be here too.” Peter looked down. She knew he was deeply affected by Ben’s death. May thought over the changes her nephew had undergone over the last few months._ _ _ _

____The field trip, if she remembered correctly, was the day before Ben was murdered by a robber. Peter being depressed and angry and then one day something changed. He was happier, she just thought some grief from Uncle Ben passing had waned. But it seemed that someone else had entered his life._ _ _ _

____She tried to do her best and she thought she did a good job. Peter was a good kid, he got good grades, he didn’t party, he enjoyed Star Wars and not Star Trek – all good indicators that she did her job._ _ _ _

____But if she was really honest, she knew that this meeting with Stark was going to change her viewpoint for better or worse._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____  
Pepper rubbed her forehead, still regretting how she handled the phone call with Tony. As much as she told her friends that she was fine, that they were still friends…Real life was much more complicated than that._ _ _ _

____She had been through a lot being with Tony and it wasn’t all bad._ _ _ _

____Of course, getting their Malibu mansion blown up by the Mandarin and being injected with Extremis wasn’t exactly a walk in the park but Tony loved the crap out of her and she knew it._ _ _ _

____She knew that it might be a downward spiral for him if she broke things off._ _ _ _

____He was always showering her with gifts and food and cars – lord, the cars he would gift her. She knew he meant well, that he showed his affection with physical things, possessions in lieu of talking about feelings._ _ _ _

____But it got to be too much. To have to watch the man she loved get thrown to the ground, see him get back up, to keep fighting. It was hard to watch him throw back Tylenol and Advil like they were Tic-Tacs and swallow with a swig of coffee while working on something for thirty hours straight._ _ _ _

____Hard to wake up in the middle of the night by his night terrors, facing a repulsor aimed at her._ _ _ _

____She didn’t blame Tony, she knew he had a lot going on in his mind that he didn’t want to talk about, not with her and certainly not with a therapist. Who was going to be trust worthy enough to speak to Tony Stark and not have little details find its way into the media, NDA or not._ _ _ _

____She sighed and dialed the familiar number on her desk phone, pressing a button on her ear piece._ _ _ _

____“Stark.” He barked through the phone._ _ _ _

____“Look, Tony. I’m sorry about earlier. Can we meet up for coffee and just talk?” Pepper pleaded. There was silence on the other end of the phone before he sighed._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, alright.” Tony agreed. “No where we can be overheard.”_ _ _ _

____“I can come up to the Penthouse when I’m done here.” Pepper offered._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, that’s fine.” Tony agreed._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____  
Pepper made her way up to the Penthouse via the elevator and when she stood there for a second and nothing happened, the pressed the button, sighing._ _ _ _

____FRIDAY was still upset with her._ _ _ _

____FRIDAY wasn’t malicious but she was definitely defensive of her creator. And she must have perceived Pepper breaking up with Tony to be warranted to being on FRIDAY’s shit list._ _ _ _

____She wouldn’t say anything to Tony about it, she wasn’t stopping her from doing her job._ _ _ _

____The elevator doors opened soundlessly and Pepper made her way to the kitchen, where Tony was standing with a mug in his hand, staring out the window._ _ _ _

____“Tony.” Pepper said his name. He broke out of his daze and gestured to sit._ _ _ _

____“Coffee?” He asked, turning away and pulling out a flat tray of coffee pods for the Keurig. She pulled one out and dropped it into his palm._ _ _ _

____“I’d rather wine. I left some here, I think?” She gestured to the bar._ _ _ _

____“Yeah…” He drew out the word. “About that.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I wasn’t in a good mood after our phone call, so I got rid of your wine.” He shrugged._ _ _ _

____“Oh, that’s alright.” Who cares, it was just wine. “I’ll take some of your Scotch then.”_ _ _ _

____“I got rid of all my alcohol, Pepper. I only have coffee, tea and water. Limited selection, FRIDAY’s having more delivered tomorrow.” Tony pressed a few buttons on the Keurig and it started brewing._ _ _ _

____“Oh.” Pepper replied. “That’s great, Tony. I’m so proud of you.” She said warming up her tone._ _ _ _

____“Thanks. I did it because I’ll be seeing more of the kid. Peter.” Tony shrugged. “The one I called you about.”_ _ _ _

____“Tony…” She felt bad. “I’ve been around you when you’ve been absolutely smashed. You would never hurt anyone.” She reassured him._ _ _ _

____Tony handed her a mug with one hand and some creamer pods and sugar packets in a bowl in the other hand._ _ _ _

____“I won’t take any chances.” He firmly stated._ _ _ _

____Pepper stared at him as she took her mug and selected her sugar and creamer. She took the spoon that Tony handed her._ _ _ _

____She swirled her coffee around, dissolving the sugar. It was decisions like these that made her think that Tony would be a good father. He really loved being around young children and teens alike, effortlessly communicating with them, making them feel comfortable at any public function. She used to think that it was because he was so immature that it took him no brain cells or sobriety to be like that but now she thought that maybe there were sides to Tony that he never let anyone see at all. Not even her._ _ _ _

____She took a sip of coffee and set it down quietly._ _ _ _

____“I think that we both handled the phone conversation badly.” Pepper started the uncomfortable conversation that she knew they needed to have._ _ _ _

____“I would agree.” Tony agreed with her._ _ _ _

____“Tony, I’m so sorry I hurt you.” Pepper reached out her hand and placed it over his._ _ _ _

____Tony swallowed. He needed this closure._ _ _ _

____“My father hit my mom. A lot.” He started. Pepper started and looked at Tony closer. He looked off to the side, lost in the memories“He got her so drugged up, she had depression, you know what mental health was like back then, and she was so gone most of the time that she had no idea what was going on.”_ _ _ _

____“Tony, I had no idea… I never heard anything about this…”_ _ _ _

____“And you wouldn’t. It was hidden by Howard and by Obie.” He stared off into space. “He would leave bruises on her, hidden under her clothes. He would hit me too, if I didn’t move fast enough, if I was in the way. But seeing how they acted, how he treated her…I never wanted to get that angry, be that mean, to lay a hand on a woman I claimed to love or any children that were around me.”_ _ _ _

____“You never have…” She tried to interject._ _ _ _

____“I know I haven’t. But there were a lot of things that happened in my childhood, my young adulthood that made me who I am today. I’m not a good guy, I’m a hard person to deal with, to be in a relationship with.” Tony took a sip of coffee. “I never got close to anyone I had feelings for, I didn’t want to be disappointed. But I really thought we could do it. That we could make it.”_ _ _ _

____“Tony…” She pleaded._ _ _ _

____“I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I get it. I’m just saying, that’s where some of the anger was coming from. I was serious about you, Pepper. I destroyed my suits for you…Anyways, I thought you could hang but it’s a lot to ask of anyone, let alone a woman as good as you.” He sighed. “You shouldn’t have to worry about me going on a rampage or acting out, I’ll be alright. I just need some time.”_ _ _ _

____“Tony, I don’t care about what was in the media…” Pepper tried. “I care about you.”_ _ _ _

____“I know, Pepper. Maybe we can just have work discussions and work our way back into being friends. I have a lot of personal stuff going on right now so SI related talks or emails might be all I have time for.” Tony said honestly._ _ _ _

____“Did you need to talk about something?” Pepper asked. “I’m always here for you, Tony.”_ _ _ _

____“I know. I just need to work on some stuff by myself for a while.” Tony smiled tightly._ _ _ _

____Their conversation dipped back into SI related issues._ _ _ _

____“Oscorp? Pep, are you kidding me?” He cried out when he heard what her latest contract was. “Nix it. I don’t want that goblin anywhere near my people.”_ _ _ _

____“Is there a specific reason? A reasonable cause?” Pepper arched a brow._ _ _ _

____“It’s cause I hate him!” Tony wrinkled his nose. “Yes, an actual reason, but I am not allowed to tell you and another reason is I don’t like him.” Tony stuck his nose up in the air as Pepper laughed._ _ _ _

____She looked at her watch and sighed._ _ _ _

____“I should get going, investor meeting tomorrow.”_ _ _ _

____“Fun.” Tony remarked._ _ _ _

____“You could go for me, you know.”_ _ _ _

____Tony smirked._ _ _ _

____“That’s why I made you CEO. Buh-bye, Pepper. Have Happy bring you home.” Pepper froze._ _ _ _

____“Uh…sure.”_ _ _ _

____“Happy already told me you two were dating. I’m not going to go off the handle.” Tony admonished her._ _ _ _

____“Tony…I just didn’t know how…” Pepper started._ _ _ _

____“It’s fine, Pepper. Seriously. Get home safe.” Tony walked her to the elevator, and they said their goodbyes._ _ _ _

____She watched him walk back to the kitchen as the doors were closing, closing on a chapter of her life._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____ _ _

____  
Tony exhaled. He didn’t tell anyone about his conversations and meetings with Dr. Helen Cho. He didn’t want anyone to know, especially Pepper._ _ _ _

____She was so relieved when he got the arc reactor removed after the Mandarin incident, but he really felt that he would rather it back. It saved him a lot more times than he could count. But he understood why Pepper wanted it removed. It stopped Loki from controlling him with the scepter, it helped keep him alive since its implementation, constantly keeping the shrapnel away, it had a lot of pros… He kind of missed the soothing blue light in a weird way._ _ _ _

____“Are you ready, Dr. Stark?” Helen asked him with a mask in her hand, hooked to an anesthesia. He exhaled but nodded._ _ _ _

____He was quite nervous about going back under the knife but spoke with Helen about the challenges of Extremis and that he wanted to have the arc reactor put back in to keep some nanobot technology that he was messing around with, he was almost onto a breakthrough with it, definitely good enough to keep some extra parts in so he could be ready to defend himself wherever he went._ _ _ _

____Then he felt nothing and everything grinded to a halt._ _ _ _

____And then he gasped and was suddenly awake, the Extremis metabolizing the anesthesia quicker than he expected but thankfully the surgery was completed._ _ _ _

____“Dr. Stark.” Helen pushed him back to a laying position. He willingly went, recognizing her voice immediately._ _ _ _

____“Did it work?” He asked, his brain coming online very quickly. It was a little disconcerting having to be closed off from the internet, his mind having acclimated very quickly to it._ _ _ _

____“It went perfectly.” Helen’s voice was soothing._ _ _ _

____He sighed, relieved and laid down._ _ _ _

____“I’m still kind of sleepy.” He told her, surprised._ _ _ _

____“Extremis did a lot of healing, let your body rest. It worked perfectly, no complications.”_ _ _ _

____Tony nodded and fell into a natural sleep, his Extremis continued to heal as he dreamed of nothing._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. Very late update. Still haven't made much progress. Work has been insane this week and I've had ZERO time/ambition to write. I had little time this past weekend too. Hope I get some this weekend. Sigh... 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy. 
> 
> Also, I am not adding relationship tags if its mentioned in passing, not until there is an official part of the story where they are together and are coupley or when they get together. Just a PSA.


	5. Chapter 5

Five

Accords Council

Tony swallowed as he was delivered the subpoena to come to the Accords Council.

He was in the hospital, visiting Rhodey, and they found him. 

He sighed as Rhodey turned concerned eyes to him. 

“Tones, what is that?” Rhodey asked. 

“Subpoena for the Accord Council. I have to answer for the events during the Civil War.” He quietly told him. 

“And will Rogers be there too?” Rhodey asked. 

“No. No one knows where he is.” Tony answered. 

“So, you have to shoulder all responsibility yet again?” Rhodey growled. 

“Hey, honeybun.” Tony tried to reassure him. “Don’t worry. I want you to do what your doctors tell you and get used to the braces. I am so sorry that this is needed. It’s all my fault.” Tony’s throat tightened as he took in Rhodey in bed. 

“Tony, my legs aren’t your fault.” Rhodey tried to reassure. “It was always a chance that the suit would go down. I am still alive. I’m good.” He smiled at him. “Anyways, how’s Pepper?” He asked. 

“Oh, right. I didn’t tell you.” Tony said sheepishly. 

“Tell me what?” Rhodey prompted. 

“Pepper left me. A couple of months ago.” He admitted. 

“What?” He yelped, jolting in his hospital bed. 

“Yeah.” Tony awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “She’s dating Happy now.” 

“Happy Hogan?” Rhodey’s eyebrow rose. “Your driver?”

Tony shrugged. 

“Tony.” Rhodey murmured. “Did you buy the ring yet?” 

Tony looked down. 

“Does she know?” Rhodey asked, sadly. 

“No. I didn’t want to make Pepper feel like she had to stay. I know I’m a lot to deal with.” Tony shrugged. 

“You are a lot, but there are a lot of good things in there too.” Rhodey tried to reassure his best friend. 

Tony looked uncomfortable with the emotions conversation, so Rhodey didn’t want to push it further. 

“I have to get back to my tower and start accumulating my defense.” Tony got to his feet and laid his hand on Rhodey’s shoulder. 

“I’m glad you’re alright, man,” Tony said thoughtfully. “I’d hate to retrain a new BFF.” He said jokingly. 

Rhodey put his hand on Tony’s, still resting on his shoulder. 

“I’m glad you’re okay too, Tony,” Rhodey stated seriously. 

Tony sighed as he made his way to the Accords Council, tablet grasped under his arm. 

“Dr. Stark.” A messenger called him. “They’re ready for you.” 

Yeah, not ominous at all. 

He sighed and made his way into the room, which felt more like he was facing a firing squad. 

He sat in the defense seat and put his tablet in front of him. 

“Dr. Stark. You are brought before the Council to discuss the events of the “Civil War” and what events transpired afterward, which resulted in Captain America and the Winter Soldier to escape.” A councilperson stated. 

“Okay.” He said, tone nonchalant. 

“Let us discuss the Raft.” She looked at her tablet. 

“Fine.” His tone was petty. 

“Your team brought Wanda Maximoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, and Scott Lang to the Raft to be held.” 

“Eventually.” He started. “I was told to bring them to a detainment facility. I had no idea it was the Council’s idea to bring them to the Raft.” He stated. 

“That was never agreed upon.” The councilperson stated. 

Tony had a confused look on his face. 

“Alright…” Tony said hesitantly. “Regardless, it seemed a little extreme, I trusted most of them – enough to be teammates with – and they wouldn’t intentionally kill anyone, I can’t say that for the rest of the Raft residents. That was meant to be a maximum-security prison for the enhanced. Inescapable.” 

“Wanda Maximoff is a significant person of concern to the Council, while we thought the Raft was a bit extreme, Miss Maximoff should have been left there, as the Sokovian government wanted. After Captain America left Siberia, he rescued his team from the Raft, including Miss Maximoff.” The councilperson continued. 

They seemed to want Tony to say something, but Tony just stared at them. 

“Do you have anything to say to that?” 

“What would you like me to say?” Tony replied, tone biting. 

“Your defense.” They growled. 

“My defense of what? I had them brought to the detainment facility as ordered. I was given thirty-six hours to bring in Rogers and Barnes. I failed, I was dying in the snow in Siberia, and that is my defense.” He stated coldly, folding his arms across his chest. 

“I think we all need to have a cooler head.” A feminine voice appeared from behind Tony. 

The woman who spoke had vibrant green skin, dark green lips, and hair so dark a shade of green that it was almost black. 

“Who are you?” Ross sniped out. He was looking slightly on edge, Tony noted. 

“My name if Jennifer Walters, and I am a lawyer. I have been chosen by the people to represent them in this Accords fiasco, and it seems that it is starting with Dr. Stark.” She stated, pulling out the chair next to Tony and setting her briefcase on the table in front of her, zipping it open and pulling out a manila folder. “The citizens are truly the victims of all this drama.” She sniffed. 

“Who chose you?” Ross growled. “I certainly wouldn’t have voted for you.” He snarled. 

“Is that regarding the fact that I am a woman, that I am enhanced, or that I am Bruce Banner’s cousin?” She arched a brow. “Regardless, I was hired by the previous leader of the Avengers and specifically hired for this meeting by Pepper Potts, Stark Industries’ CEO.” 

Ross blustered, but the Council looked at each other before a young woman of African descent rose and asked the questions that they all had on their minds. 

“What does Bruce Banner have to do with this?” She asked. 

“Ross hired Bruce and some other scientists, to try and recreate the super-serum of Captain America.” Jennifer started. 

“How did he have the resources to arrange that?” She asked astonished. 

“He didn’t. The government did.” Jennifer stated. The whispers started up, and Jennifer continued. “Bruce was caught in an explosion of gamma radiation and turned into the Hulk. Ross wanted to capture him and continue experimenting on him, and Ross eventually found a test subject in Blonsky. Blonsky was a soldier from the British army. Ross then captured Bruce by dangling his daughter, whom Bruce loved, in front of Bruce, forcing Bruce to allow a small amount of blood to be withheld from him and Blonsky was to be injected with, to be on Hulk’s level. Ross and Abomination, which was Blonsky’s alter-ego’s name, broke Harlem, not Hulk.” Jennifer gathered some papers and tapped them on the desk. “It seems that Secretary Ross cannot help but be biased towards Bruce at the very least and capable of great destruction with knowledge of enhanced persons DNA at best.”

“And what do you have against the Hulk? You seem very fixated.” Another representative asked Secretary Ross.

“He is an abomination! He deserves to be taken down!” He shouted, getting to his feet. “Now, see here!” He bellowed. “I was a founding member of these Accords! I wanted these…beings held to some kind of standard!” 

“They’re people, just like me and just like you. And they should be allowed their own lives, their own identities and some regulation, I agree. But to inhumanely treat them as lower than homo sapiens is cruel and unwarranted. Dr. Stark here saved the Earth by redirecting a missile into a black hole against an alien army.” 

“Yeah, yeah, everyone fucking loves Stark! Well, what about the real heroes? The men going overseas and fighting the good fight?” Ross declared. 

“While I do not discredit our military forces, our men and women are most definitely heroes, and I do not mean to disparage their sacrifices. I am simply stating that these enhanced individuals have also done heroic things for our country and our world. And they should be held to laws, like everyone else, but fair ones.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Ross slammed his hands onto the table and stood up. “Are we just going to let some green bitch steamroll all over us?!” He bellowed. 

“Us?” The young girl asked. “It seems that she is bringing up some facts about your past that you’d rather she not, Secretary Ross. Do you have something to hide?”

“She’s lying!” He exclaimed. 

“We all saw the evidence of the Harlem fight…Abomination is held in the Raft, which…Who built that again?” The girl responded with. 

The other councilmembers were silent. It was a rumor that Ross had built it with government funds, but no one knew for sure.

“Look…” the African girl started speaking. “We should have checks and balances. That is how America works; does it not?” She asked. 

“It does,” Jennifer confirmed. “The will of the people are communicated through their representatives, and the government shouldn’t have too much influence on the free will of the people.” 

“So, is it not good that a lawyer is here?” She looked around her councilmembers, and they all nodded along with her. 

“No! The Council should appoint the lawyer!” Ross firmly stated. “I have a handful of lawyers that would be happy to represent anyone!” 

“And I am sure that they are not in your pocket, so to speak.” Jennifer sarcastically commented. 

“Listen, you green-tinted little…” Ross started and was interrupted. 

“Enough.” The African girl stated firmly. 

“Princess Shuri…” Ross started. Jennifer’s eyebrow rose. Princess? 

“I am unsure what your motives are with this little tantrum of yours, Secretary Ross.” Shuri raised an eyebrow. 

“Tantrum…” He grumbled, offended to the highest order. 

“We are getting off-track,” Jennifer stated. “Dr. Stark stated his team was ordered by the Council to bring the obtained Avengers to the Raft. Princess Shuri stated this was incorrect. Dr. Stark, who gave your team the order?” She asked, turning to him. 

“Ross.” He answered. 

“Secretary Thaddeus Ross or Everett Ross?” She asked. 

“Secretary Ross.” Tony clarified. 

“And who gave you the order of thirty-six hours to bring back two super soldiers when you are not enhanced but are enhanced by your suit of armor, causing you to be in danger?” Jennifer asked. 

“Now, see here…” Ross threatened. 

Jennifer raised a hand, and Ross was so offended that no sound came out of his mouth. 

“It was Secretary Ross.” Chatter started up in the room, and Jennifer pressed on. 

“And what were the consequences of you going to Siberia? Mental, physical, emotional. Please remember that all Council meetings are streamed and translated into every language, so anything admitted or said in this room, will be recorded and used as evidence for all future cases.” 

Tony inhaled and breathed out. 

“Rogers disabled my suit, misjudging his strength, I assume, and my chest was significantly damaged. I was unable to disengage my suit. I was stuck sitting in the snow until rescue came.” He hesitated. 

“Yes?” Jennifer pressed. 

“An enemy of Rogers, who lost family in Lagos, showed me a video of the Winter Soldier, Barnes, killing my parents.” He stated. The room hushed instantly, shocked by the news. “It was a cover-up by HYDRA, and Rogers knew but didn’t tell me. Which, fine, we are all entitled to our secrets, but it was shown to me in Siberia. I was emotionally incapacitated.” 

“And the injuries that you received. Were you able to get medical treatment? Remember, you would be guilty of perjury if found lying.” She repeated as she saw Tony hesitate. 

“I got rescued by my AI and an intern of mine in Germany with me. I was brought to the plane unconscious. I wouldn’t have made it to the hospital.” He swallowed. “I synthesized a formula of the Extremis formula – which the Council is aware of – to repair me if a near-death situation arose…And the kid was worried enough about my situation, that he did that. I am now an enhanced individual.” 

Chatter broke out again, and Jennifer rose her hand after a minute of discussion. 

“If you were not instructed to bring in Rogers and Barnes by Secretary Ross, would you have gone to Siberia and gotten injured anyways?” 

“No,” Tony answered. 

“What kind of enhanced are you?” Ross seemed to be particularly interested in that part of the story. No remorse. Tony sneered at him. 

“My law expertise is generally focused around human rights issues. Safety. Good working conditions. I would like to hold this Council to humane standards, going forward and working on making the Accords as fair as possible.” 

The Council nodded. 

“That is our intent.” One agreed verbally. 

“This is preposterous.” Ross looked around at his fellow council people in disgust. “You are letting these two people change what the Accords were meant to do? All the work I’ve put into this?” He slammed his hands on his desk, getting to his feet. 

“So, you admit to doing things that the Council wouldn’t approve of?” Tony asked him.

“I did everything with the approval of the Council.” Ross hissed through his teeth. 

“I do not remember agreeing to torturing and holding citizens of any country on a raft in the middle of the ocean without any chance of freedom because they sneezed wrong,” Shuri stated. She looked at those around her. “Am I wrong?” 

“No.” Other representatives agreed with Princess Shuri. 

“That is the opposite of what this Council was created to do.” Shuri leveled a stare at Ross, who didn’t say anything. 

“I think I speak for the people of America when I say that Secretary Ross has committed many crimes against the safety of the human race – this is a human rights violation. I move for Secretary Ross to be removed from the Accords council. I am afraid of multiple levels of the main documents of the Accords would be exploited for Secretary Ross’ personal and inhumane goals.” Jennifer stated. “Who seconds my motion?” 

“You can’t do this! Just because you’re screwing Tony Stark doesn’t give you the right to destroy my life like this!” Ross shouted, getting to his feet. 

“Allegedly screwing Tony has nothing to do with the fact that you’re an immoral douchebag. And I spent eighteen years after law school taking down tools like you.” She stared down Ross, not giving an inch.

“Seconded,” Shuri stated the votes for getting Ross out of the Accords council being overwhelming voted for. They only need a two-thirds vote. And it was overwhelmingly voted for. 

“The movement has passed.” A secretary informed the room. The other council people nodded satisfactorily. 

“You pitiful, insignificant people! I got those Avengers captured, so what if Stark died?” He shouted. “I wish he did. I wish that any of you had the guts to do what I did! To do what had to be done!” 

“You’re lucky I don’t sue you for recklessly endangering Dr. Stark’s life!” Jennifer boomed. Ross glared at her. “Be grateful you’re just kicked off the council.” She sneered. 

“I’ll get you for this, Stark. Mark my words.” Ross growled. Tony held up his hands innocently. 

“Threats as well. Noted.” Jennifer evenly stared at the Secretary, not moving as he advanced on her, nowhere near her when Shuri alerted security. 

“Guards!” Shuri shouted. And armed men forcibly removed Ross from the room. 

“Now, Secretary Ross is still a representative of the US Government, so he still has power, but with the Accords, he won’t have as much,” Jennifer stated happily, now that Ross was gone. What a monster. “I have many issues with the Accords as they stand, I am looking forward to working with everyone to create a safe and humane set of regulations for any enhanced individual, myself included.” 

Jennifer shuffled some papers. 

“Now, we should meet next week to truly hash out the statutes to make them as fair as we can make it. We do not want to control the enhanced individuals in any way but make it safer for them and the citizens with some grounding principles. And above all else, make them ethical.” 

“We look forward to other viewpoints to make the Accords as perfect as we can make it.” Princess Shuri inclined her head in agreement. “We look forward to your presence as well, Dr. Stark.” 

“Lunch?” Jennifer tossed her hair in Tony’s direction. 

“I’m down,” Tony smirked back at her as he got to his feet as the Accords meeting came to a close. 

“There’s a Thai place down the road.” Jennifer gathered her papers and put them back into the briefcase. 

“Sounds good to me,” Tony replied. 

Soon, they were sat in the booth and ordered some spring rolls and dumplings to start.

“So, Jennifer, do you turn pale, or is it more of green all the time type thing?” Tony asked as he sipped his water. 

“Green life is the only life.” She winked. 

“How has Bruce not mastered that yet?” Tony asked. Jennifer frowned. 

“Bruce has had a hard life.” Jennifer started. “His dad was abusive, not only to his mom but him. All types; emotional, mental, physical. He finally made it to college and never talked to his parents if he could help it. I kept in contact with him. I tried to tell my parents about it, but they thought I was exaggerating.” She sipped at her iced tea. “He was so angry as a teenager, so destructive. I think that Bruce is trying to keep a firm wall between his angry self and his calm self, instead of embracing the other part of his personality.” 

“He must be really angry,” Tony commented. He grabbed a dumpling with chopsticks and popped it in his mouth. 

“Very angry. He’s super smart but kind of dumb when it comes to emotions.” Jennifer laughed honestly. 

Tony laughed. 

“So, let’s talk about the Accords. You don’t seem the type to trust the government, let alone get behind being governed by said government.” Jennifer pondered. 

“Yeah, I’m not.” Tony sighed. “When I guided that missile into space, I saw something.” He stared off into space. “We are not ready. I kept trying to tell the other Avengers about the things I saw, but none believed me. We need to get Earth ready for a multi-world war, and I felt that the Accords was the best way to get a team ready. Then it all just kind of fell apart, and I don’t know if I stand behind them anymore.” He commented. “They don’t stand behind me.” 

“Well, perhaps we could work together and create an Accords that we could get behind.” Jennifer offered, taking a bite of her food. 

“I have a lot going on, and I’m not sure I have a lot of time to spend on the Accords personally.” He told her honestly. 

And it was right, and he had to worry about Peter and Harley, Pepper, SI, even if he wasn’t the CEO, he didn’t want to have to worry about the Accords as well. As well as his own physical and mental health. 

And he is gaining control of his new powers. 

Not fun. 

“How about we schedule a meeting for next week or the week after and discuss it?” Jennifer got to her feet as they split the bill evenly. 

“You can send me an email to SI email address, and I’ll let FRIDAY know that you’re okay to let through.” Tony smoothed out his suit jacket as he stood. 

“FRIDAY?” Jennifer asked. 

“My AI. It’s in my residence. I don’t do well with PA’s.” He smiled humorlessly. “So, I made one.” He shrugged. 

“Impressive.” And Jennifer was impressed. Not many could make AI’s, but it seems that was one of the things that Tony Stark excelled at. 

Tony shrugged. 

“I used to be proud of my AI’s,” Tony stated, lost in thought. 

“But not anymore?” Jennifer asked. 

“Well, I can’t make any improvements to FRIDAY or any other AI that I designed, per the Accords, let alone make another one,” Tony said, disgusted in that piece of legislation. 

“Perhaps that is where we should start.” 

“I would like that.” He agreed, holding a hand to shake, as their lunch meeting wrapped up. Her warm green hand wrapped around his and shook it firmly. 

He walked outside with Jennifer and double-tapped his arc reactor on his chest, the suit shifting through his bones to wrap around him effortlessly. 

Jennifer watched as his designer suit became the Iron Man suit almost effortlessly. She worked hard to keep her mouth from gaping. The mask settled over his face, and eyes lit up blue. 

“Toodles.” His filtered voice came through the mask as he shot into the sky, leaving Jennifer on the floor, her hand keeping the sun out of her eyes. She smiled, shook her head, and made her way to her car. 

He was something else. But he would be someone that would be good to have on the Accords team. 

Jennifer’s phone buzzed. 

Incoming call from Unknown. 

She slid her finger across the screen, holding the phone up to her ear. 

“Walters.” She answered. 

“Jennifer.” Fury’s voice came through the phone. “Any success?” 

“Moderately.” She answered. “I got Ross off the Council; we’ll need a replacement. Stark’s on the fence about joining.” 

“I bet he is. His plate is full these days.” Fury murmured. “Ross is a good step. Good work. Glad I chose the right person.” 

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. Don’t think because you paid the fees that I’ll do it just to keep you happy. This is for mutants, enhanced, and the public’s protection.” Jennifer’s voice was sharp. 

“What if I give you more?” Fury asked. 

“My answer will be the same, but I’d thank you for the new wardrobe upgrade,” Jennifer smirked. 

“That’s why I like you, Walters. I’ll be in touch.” Then the other side of the conversation ended. 

She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the call ended popping across the screen. 

She rolled her eyes. 

“Sure. Goodbye to you too, you one-eyed pirate.” She snarked to herself as she put her phone in her Coach purse and pulled out her keys and settled herself in her seat, buckling herself in and starting the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am updating the tags for the endgame pairing as a few people have been a little irate about it, not that I really care but whatever, I'll update it. I now have Grammerly which is totally a beta, in program form, right? RIGHT!? 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I have had little time to work on this and this has been completed for a while so I can update this as scheduled. 
> 
> Thank you all for the kudos, views and comments <3
> 
> follow my twitter @aware_mermaid for delays in updates.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am actually really excited for this chapter!!! HARLEYYYYY

Six 

Harley Keener 

Harley couldn’t take his eyes off of the TV, watching Captain America shove his shield into the chest of the Iron Man suit. 

He felt nauseous. 

He opened his phone and opened the thread that he had with Tony. 

Nothing for a little while, almost two months. 

He opened a new thread to Tony’s AI. 

FRIDAY, is he okay? 

No. But he’s alive and getting better every day. 

Okay, thank you for letting me know. Let him know I asked about him. 

Yes, Mr. Keener. 

“Is he okay?” His mom, Emily, asked as she dried her hands as she finished washing the dishes. 

“As good as he can be. He’s recovering.” Harley answered. 

“Well, let him know we wish him a fast recovery.” His mom told him. “Lily!” she yelled. “Come on! You need to finish your social studies report!” She shouted. She turned to Harley. “Did you finish everything you needed to, Harley?” She asked. 

“I’m all caught up. Thankfully finals are soon, then summer.” He said gratefully. 

“I know…” She sighed unhappily. Harley watched her body language, little cues giving him little pieces of the red flag that went across his mind. 

“Do you have work tonight, mom?” Harley asked as he opened his smartphone, opening Twitter and ignored the Iron Man tweets that were trending. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, able to view her body language better if she thought he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Oh, not tonight, honey.” She said as she wiped down the counter. “Lily!” His sister’s door opened and she stepped out, wrapped in a bright pink Hello Kitty robe. 

“God, Mom. I said I was coming…” Lily pouted at her. 

“No, you didn’t.” Emily stared down her daughter. 

“I so did.” Lily sat down at the table and opened her binder to her project. 

“Lily, you know Mom can’t hear you through the door.” Harley said, giving his sister the stink eye. It seemed whenever their Mom wasn’t working, Lily was giving her a hard time, instead of enjoying the free time that their Mom had, like Harley did. 

Lily grumbled but didn’t argue. 

Emily shot her son a grateful look. 

She didn’t have the easiest time since her husband left her when she was at work, telling Harley he was going to get scratchers and never coming back. 

She was sure that Harley had some resentment, anger or trust issues from that event but he never showed it, just watched over his sister without complaint, helping around the house without being asked and took over the garage for his little projects. 

Her little boy was turning into a wonderful, intelligent young man. 

He deserved better than this backwater town. 

Especially hearing the conversations that he had with Tony, sometimes she overheard the back and forth’s they had about an invention. 

If her son could keep up with Tony Stark, then that was an indicator of her son’s intelligence. 

Which made her feel even worse about what was on her mind. 

She got a pink slip, fired, however anyone wants to say it, the fact of the matter is she no longer had an income. 

She kept a job at the local diner for the last fifteen years and she showed up to work two days ago and was told they were letting her go. 

No reason at all. 

Her state was a state where they didn’t have to give you a reason. So, she was screwed. 

She tried to go to other businesses and was told that they weren’t hiring. 

She looked at the two teens who depended on her for their food and way of living. 

Her bills were already suffocating her, she could barely make ends meet as it was, being the only income in the household. 

She helped Lily with her homework and kissed Harley on the head as he went to bed and turned off the lights and cried herself to sleep that night. 

  
Harley stood outside his mother’s bedroom door and listened to her cry, his heart clenching, not knowing what to do. 

He turned around and went back to his room. 

“What are we going to do if Mom doesn’t have a job?” he asked himself. “Maybe I could get a job.” 

At the other end of the phone, FRIDAY recorded the audio and forwarded it to Boss. 

Immediately, FRIDAY saw an email from Boss to HR asking what positions were open that needed to be filled ASAP. 

After she saw her kids off to school, watching the bus fading out of her vision, she heard a car roll up behind her. She whipped around and saw a woman step out of the car. 

“Can I help you?” Emily folded her arms around her abdomen. 

“Emily Keener?” 

“Yes?” She frowned. 

“My name is Vanessa McNair, I work at Stark Industries. Is there anywhere we could talk?” The woman had a smart suit on. Well, hell, if this was a job interview, she was glad she wasn’t wearing pajamas. But she doubted it. 

She was wearing a casual pair of jeans and a nice sweater, with flats on her feet. 

“Yes, we can go into the house, if you’d like?” Emily hoped her voice was warm and open. She made her way over to her door and closed it behind the two of them. Thank god she cleaned the kitchen last night, like a mad woman. “Coffee? Tea? Water?” Emily offered. 

“Water would be great.” Vanessa smiled. 

Emily wordlessly handed her a bottle of water that she took from the fridge. 

“Dr. Stark has had a line of communication with your son Harley for some time.” Vanessa began. 

“Yes, they talk on the phone often. Harley loves it.” Emily took a sip of water. 

“Dr. Stark is starting a bit of a mentorship program. He has his eyes set on a young man in New York and Harley and possibly his younger sister as well. He would ultimately like to see him in New York as well, as that is where Dr. Stark lives.” 

“Ultimately, I would like to see Harley and even Lily in New York, so many more opportunities for them. They are great kids.” Vanessa smiled politely. 

“Dr. Stark would like me to be aggressive, but I’ll ask you point blank: What would get you to New York?” Vanessa asked, opening her folder, leaving Emily to gape at her. 

“Um…what?” Emily felt mental whiplash. 

“Dr. Stark wants your family in New York. What can I tempt you with to get you there?” Vanessa made eye contact with Emily. 

Emily looked around her house. She saw the wear on the house, the stove that half worked because she couldn’t replace it, the fridge that was three years out of warranty… 

“A job, an apartment’s down payment, money to get this place to sell and a moving truck. And it will have to wait six weeks, until the kids’ school year ends.” 

Vanessa smiled; teeth full. 

“Let’s talk numbers.” She said, shark-like. “We will set you up with a suite on floor 85 of the Stark Tower, it will include three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, one in the master and one in the main hallway of the suit, laundry room. Rent amount will be $1,000 per month. Do you agree to this amount?” 

“Yes.” To be honest, it was a hell of a lot less than she was paying now. “Utilities?” 

“Managed by Dr. Stark’s arc reactor technology. The Tower is self-sustaining.” Vanessa answered. 

“Handy.” 

“Indeed. No need for an apartment deposit.” Vanessa crossed that off of Emily’s demand list. “We will give you $20,000 and a list of contractors in this area to make this house as expensive looking as possible.” 

“That is very generous.” 

“Well within the budget Dr. Stark gave me.” Vanessa smirked. She crossed that off too. “And $7,500 for a moving truck and movers plus settling any expenses here in Tennessee.” She pulled out a check from her folder and handwrote the amounts in, Dr. Stark had already authorized it. She handed the smaller check to Emily. “You can cash this immediately.” Vanessa pulled out a business card. “Please forward the contractor’s invoices to my email and we will pay directly to the contractors. This fund is managed by our accounting department and they want to ensure the money is spent correctly.” 

“Of course.” Emily agreed. 

“And the job. We will set you up with a meeting with our HR department upon you getting settled into Stark Tower and find the best fit for you.” Emily nodded, grateful for this opportunity. 

“New York is looking forward to having you.” Vanessa handed her a thick folder. “Here is the standard NDA and Employee Handbook that every employee and resident must adhere to. “Please have these signed upon arrival.” 

Emily took the folder. 

“Thank you for your time.” Vanessa stood and Emily opened the door for her and they said their goodbyes. 

Emily looked at the check and felt a sigh of relief. 

Maybe things would work out after all. 

She jumped in her little car and made her way to the bank. 

Fifteen minutes after she went into the bank, she exited with a bigger bank account than she ever had. Sure, the bank called Stark Industries, to make sure but it was in her bank account. She made sure to take out $455.87 exactly, to the penny. 

She made her way over to the pediatrician’s office and made her way to the counter. 

“May I help…oh, Mrs. Keener. Here to make a plea for another extension?” The rude receptionist asked. 

“What was my balance again?” Emily asked, sweetly. 

“$455.87.” She said as she typed some things into the computer. 

Emily slammed the envelope on the counter. 

“Here’s your blood money. It’s hilarious how little you have empathy for a single mother with two kids who works on tips. No empathy at all. I would like my kid’s medical files. We’re moving away from this hell hole.” 

“We can only make copies, it’ll be a while…” The receptionist felt the eyes of the waiting parents. 

“I’ll wait.” Emily smiled viciously. 

“What did your child need?” A mom asked her, her hand wrapped around her son’s shoulder. 

“Basic immunizations.” The fellow mother sighed. “The restaurant has no insurance for us, I had to pay out of pocket. State insurance only covers so much.” 

“Criminal.” The mother glared at the receptionist’s desk. 

“Here.” The receptionist said curtly. 

Emily took the folders and made her way back to the home. She felt stress disappear from her shoulders as she called the cable company, the electric company, her credit card companies and paid off everything. Only made a small dent. The remaining money should be able to cover food and utilities for the next month and a half. 

Then she picked up the phone and called the realtor. 

Harley and Lily opened the door, chatting happily and they saw her mother sitting at the table. 

They immediately quieted and their mother gestured to the two seats in front of them. 

They sat silently. 

“I didn’t tell you but I lost my job a few days ago.” Their mom began. Lily began to quietly cry. Harley stared stone faced back. Emily realized that perhaps her son was able to read her better than she initially thought. “But I got a visitor today.” 

“From who?” Harley asked. Lily sniffed as she wiped her tears away. 

“Stark Industries.” 

Harley squeezed his hands together and Lily looked on confused. 

“We will be moving in six weeks to New York.” Emily began. “I know this will be a big change, but if you give it a chance, I hope that…” 

She was interrupted by a teenage girl shrieking. 

“NEW YORK?!!” She squealed. “Omigod, can we go now?” Lily demanded. 

“Lilian Elizabeth!” Emily scolded. Lily wilted. “Of course not, you have to finish your school year.” Emily softened. “But I will need your help packing the attic and garage, the movers will help with the rest.” 

Harley and Lily nodded. 

“Of course, Mom.” Harley confirmed. 

  
Harley opened a thread on his phone. 

Thank you, FRIDAY. 

Anytime, Harley. 

He looked around his bedroom with a vacant eye. 

“Goodbye shithole.” He said vindictively. 

“Boss, Miss Potts is calling.” 

FRIDAY’s voice cut through his latest invention binge, causing him to pinch his fingers. 

“Son of a…” 

“Shall I call the doctor, Boss?” FRIDAY asks sweetly. 

“Goddamn…No. Put her through.” 

“Yes, Boss. I’m relieved you’ll be able to recover.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. The sass. 

“Yes, Pepper?” 

“Who is Emily Keener and why do I have her application for moving into Stark Tower in front of me with your signature on it?” Pepper cut right to the chase. 

“Uh, because that is what I wanted her to do? And she’s from Tennessee.” 

“That is literally no more information than what I already had. I can see she’s from Tennessee. How did you meet her?” 

“Well, meet is such a relative term, Pepper.” 

“You haven’t met her.” 

“Not as such.” 

“And she’s moving into the Tower.” 

“Yes.” 

“Why.” Pepper growled. 

“Well, I wanted Harley to be here, you know from when I crashed in Tennessee after the destruction of the Malibu mansion. And Emily lost her job recently.” 

“How could I forget?” Pepper asked dryly. “Emily is Harley’s mother?” 

“Yes.” 

“Any other surprises?” 

“There is also a sister.” 

“A sister.” 

“Younger.” 

“So, three teenagers in the Tower.” 

“Affirmative.” 

“I want to meet Emily.” Pepper said in her no-nonsense tone.

“You can, after she settles in. I don’t want you ambushing her. She’s had a hard life. She deserves a break.” 

“Fine…” Pepper sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! short chapter but others will be longer.

**Author's Note:**

> chapters 1-9 looked over for plot holes. All mistakes are mine.


End file.
